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 berkata: Bhīma menghantamnya dengan anak panah nārāca; namun sang kesatria perkasa itu kembali menerjang Bhīma. Sesudah itu, saudaranya yang termasyhur dan kuat—datang dengan kereta berhaluan melengkung—menyerbu Bhīmasena lagi dan melukainya dengan 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.