Shloka 216
अध्याय १५९ — रात्रौ श्रमविरामः
Night Exhaustion and Brief Pause in Battle
जघान भीम॑ नाराचैस्तमप्यभ्यद्रवद् बली । तदनन्तर कर्णके सुविख्यात बलवान् भ्राता वकरथने आकर भीमसेनपर भी आक्रमण किया और उन्हें नाराचोंद्वारा घायल कर दिया
sañjaya uvāca |
jaghāna bhīmaṁ nārācais tam apy abhyadravad balī | tad-anantaraṁ karṇakeṣu su-vikhyātaḥ balavān bhrātā vakra-rathena ākramya bhīmasenaṁ punar api ākrāmat, taṁ ca nārācair vyathayām āsa ||
Sañjaya dit : Bhīma le frappa de flèches nārāca ; pourtant ce puissant guerrier se rua de nouveau sur Bhīma. Puis, le frère renommé et vigoureux, monté sur un char au mouvement courbe, chargea encore Bhīmasena et le blessa de traits nārāca.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh logic of kṣatriya warfare: injury is met with immediate counter-attack, and warriors persist through pain out of duty, loyalty, and resolve. It implicitly raises the ethical tension between dharma as duty in war and the escalating cycle of retaliation.
Sañjaya reports a rapid exchange: Bhīma strikes an opponent with nārāca arrows; the opponent, though wounded, charges back. Then a renowned, powerful brother on a maneuvering chariot attacks Bhīma again and wounds him with nārāca shafts.