Shloka 66
Śaineya’s Breakthrough and Reunion with Arjuna (शैनेयस्य समागमः)
एकैकं पज्चभिर्विद्ध्वा भीमं॑ विव्याध सप्तभि: । धनुर्ध्वजं चास्य तथा रथाद् भूमावपातयत्,राजन्! उस समय कृतवर्माने चारों ओर बाण चलाकर उन महारथियोंमेंसे प्रत्येकको पाँच बाणोंद्वारा बींध डाला और भीमसेनको सात बाणोंसे घायल कर दिया। फिर तत्काल ही उनके धनुष और ध्वजको काटकर रथसे पृथ्वीपर गिरा दिया
sañjaya uvāca | ekaikaṃ pañcabhir viddhvā bhīmaṃ vivyādha saptabhiḥ | dhanur-dhvajaṃ cāsya tathā rathād bhūmāv apātayat rājan ||
Sañjaya dit : Après avoir percé chacun de ces grands guerriers de char de cinq flèches, Kṛtavarman frappa Bhīmasena de sept traits. Puis, ô Roi, il trancha promptement l’arc de Bhīma ainsi que son étendard, les faisant tomber du char sur la terre.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in the dharma of war, victory often turns on disabling an opponent’s capacity to fight—here by striking Bhīma and then cutting down his bow and banner. It invites reflection on the ethical tension between martial excellence and the harsh, dehumanizing efficiency of battlefield tactics.
Sañjaya reports that Kṛtavarman showers arrows, piercing each of the opposing great warriors with five arrows and wounding Bhīma with seven. He then severs Bhīma’s bow and standard, making them fall from the chariot to the ground—an act meant to neutralize Bhīma’s fighting power and morale-symbols.