Shloka 8
Chapter 30: Formation Disruption, Competing War-Cries, and Nīla’s Fall
Droṇa-parva
तावेकरथमारूढौ भ्रातरौ वृषकाचलौ । शरवर्षेण बीभत्सुमविध्येतां मुहुर्मुहु:,इस प्रकार एक रथपर बैठे हुए वे दोनों भाई वृषक और अचल बारंबार बाणोंकी वर्षासे अर्जुनको घायल करने लगे
tāv ekaratham ārūḍhau bhrātarau vṛṣakācalau | śaravarṣeṇa bībhatsum avidhyetāṃ muhur muhuḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata—demikianlah kedua bersaudara, Vṛṣaka dan Acala, yang menaiki satu kereta, berulang kali menghujani Bībhatsu (Arjuna) dengan panah-panah dan melukainya.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield reality that even the greatest warrior can be pressured by coordinated, persistent assault; it frames the ethical tension of kṣatriya-duty—steadfastness amid violence—without celebrating cruelty, emphasizing endurance and resolve under relentless opposition.
Sañjaya reports that the two brothers Vṛṣa and Acala, riding together on a single chariot, repeatedly shower Arjuna with arrows, wounding him again and again in the ongoing combat of Droṇa Parva.