Shloka 21
उसने शिखण्डीको बारह, उत्तमौजाको छ:, युधामन्युको तीन तथा जनमेजय और धष्टद्युम्नको भी तीन-तीन पैने बाणोंसे अत्यन्त घायल कर दिया
sañjaya uvāca — sa śikhaṇḍinaṃ dvādaśabhiḥ, uttamaujasaṃ ṣaḍbhiḥ, yudhāmanyum tribhiḥ, janamejayaṃ ca dhṛṣṭadyumnaṃ ca tribhis-tribhiḥ tīkṣṇaiḥ śaraiḥ paramam āhatya atīva vyathitān akarot |
संजय बोले—उसने शिखण्डी को बारह तीक्ष्ण बाणों से, उत्तमौजा को छह से, युधामन्यु को तीन से; तथा जनमेजय और धृष्टद्युम्न को भी तीन-तीन पैने बाणों से बेधकर अत्यन्त घायल कर दिया।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh reality of kṣatriya-duty in war: skill and resolve manifest as precise, repeated strikes, yet the ethical weight remains—heroism and suffering coexist, and victory is pursued through actions that inevitably cause pain.
Sañjaya reports that a warrior (contextually, the opposing archer in this battle sequence) shoots multiple named Pāṇḍava-side fighters—Śikhaṇḍin, Uttamaujā, Yudhāmanyu, Janamejaya, and Dhṛṣṭadyumna—wounding them severely with a specified count of sharp arrows.