Shloka 17
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 29 — Arjuna’s defeat of Vṛṣaka–Acalā and the neutralization of Śakuni’s māyā
अर्जुनने उनके धनुषको काटकर उनके तूणीरोंके भी टुकड़े-टुकड़े कर दिये। फिर तुरंत ही बहत्तर बाणोंसे उनके सम्पूर्ण मर्मस्थानोंमें गहरी चोट पहुँचायी ।। विद्धस्ततो5तिव्यथितो वैष्णवास्त्रमुदीरयन् । अभिमन्त्रयाड्कुशं क्रुद्धो व्यसूजत् पाण्डवोरसि,उन बाणोंसे घायल हो अत्यन्त पीड़ित होकर भगदत्तने वैष्णवास्त्र प्रकट किया। उसने कुपित हो अपने अंकुशको ही वैष्णवास्त्रसे अभिमन्त्रित करके पाण्डुनन्दन अर्जुनकी छाती पर छोड़ दिया
arjunena tasya dhanuś chittvā tasya tūṇīrāṇy api khaṇḍaśaḥ kṛtāni | tataḥ kṣaṇād eva dvāsaptatibhir bāṇaiḥ sarveṣu marma-sthāneṣu gāḍhāṃ pīḍāṃ prāpitaḥ || viddhas tato ’tivyathito bhagadatto vaiṣṇavāstram udīrayan | abhimantryāṅkuśaṃ kruddho vyasṛjat pāṇḍavorasi ||
Sañjaya said: Arjuna cut down his bow and shattered his quivers as well. Then, without delay, he struck him with seventy-two arrows, inflicting deep wounds upon all his vital points. Pierced by those shafts and writhing in intense pain, Bhagadatta invoked the Vaiṣṇava weapon. In anger, he consecrated his elephant-goad with that divine missile and hurled it at the chest of Arjuna, the son of Pāṇḍu.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how unchecked anger in battle drives escalation—from conventional weapons to divine missiles—underscoring the ethical tension in kṣatriya warfare: prowess and duty must be balanced with restraint, because wrath can push combatants toward increasingly destructive means.
Arjuna disables Bhagadatta by cutting his bow and quivers and then wounds him at vital points with seventy-two arrows. In severe pain, Bhagadatta retaliates by invoking the Vaiṣṇavāstra, empowering his elephant-goad with mantra and hurling it toward Arjuna’s chest.