Shloka 34
भीष्मस्य अप्रतिमपराक्रमः — शिखण्डिपुरस्कृतः प्रहारः
Bhīṣma’s unmatched momentum and the assault with Śikhaṇḍin in the lead
दुःशासनस्सत्रिभि: क्रुद्धः पार्थ विव्याध पत्रिभि: | ललाटे भरतश्रेष्ठ शरै: संनतपर्वभि:,भरतश्रेष्ठ) तब दुःशासनने कुपित होकर अर्जुनके ललाटमें झुकी हुई गाँठवाले तीन पंखयुक्त बाण मारे
sañjaya uvāca | duḥśāsanaḥ sa-tribhiḥ kruddhaḥ pārthaṃ vivyādha patribhiḥ | lalāṭe bharataśreṣṭha śaraiḥ saṃnata-parvabhiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Enraged, Duḥśāsana struck Pārtha (Arjuna) with three feathered arrows, O best of the Bharatas—arrows whose joints were bent downward—hitting him on the forehead. The scene underscores how wrath on the battlefield drives men to targeted violence, while the righteous warrior is tested in endurance and restraint amid provocation.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger (krodha) manifests as deliberate harm in war, while the ethical test for a righteous warrior is to remain steady and disciplined under provocation, not letting wrath dictate conduct.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Duḥśāsana, furious, shoots Arjuna with three fletched arrows, striking his forehead—an immediate battlefield action within the Bhīṣma Parva war narration.