Shloka 66
अर्जुनस्य शीघ्रप्रयाणं भीम-शकुनियुद्धं च
Arjuna’s Rapid Advance and the Bhīma–Śakuni Encounter
एते पुरोगमा भूत्वा धृष्टद्युम्नस्य संयुगे । कर्णमस्यन्तमिष्वस्त्रैर्विचेररमितौजस:
sañjaya uvāca | ete purogamā bhūtvā dhṛṣṭadyumnasya saṃyuge | karṇam asyantam iṣv-astrair vicerur amitaujasaḥ | śikhaṇḍī sahadevo nakulaḥ śatānīko janamejayaḥ sātyakiś ca tathā bahavaḥ prabhadrakagaṇāḥ—ete sarve amit-tejasaḥ vīrā yuddhasthale dhṛṣṭadyumnam agre kṛtvā bāṇān varṣantaḥ karṇe nānāvidhair astrāśastraiḥ prahārān kurvanto viceruḥ ||
संजय बोले—धृष्टद्युम्न के नेतृत्व में युद्ध में ये सब आगे होकर—शिखण्डी, सहदेव, नकुल, शतानीक, जनमेजय, सात्यकि और बहुत-से प्रभद्रक—अमिततेजस्वी वीर रणभूमि में विचरते हुए कर्ण पर बाणों की वर्षा करते और नाना प्रकार के अस्त्र-शस्त्रों से प्रहार करते रहे।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma in practice: disciplined coordination under a commander (Dhṛṣṭadyumna) and collective responsibility in confronting a powerful adversary (Karṇa). It reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between personal valor and the necessity of organized, strategic action within the brutal constraints of war.
A group of prominent Pandava-aligned warriors—Śikhaṇḍin, Sahadeva, Nakula, Śatānīka, Janamejaya, Sātyaki, and Prabhadraka troops—advance as the vanguard before Dhṛṣṭadyumna and range across the battlefield, showering arrows and striking Karṇa with various weapons.