Shloka 3536
Arjuna’s Advance toward Bhīṣma; The Gāṇḍīva’s Signal and the Armies’ Convergence (भीष्माभिमुखगमनम् — गाण्डीवनिर्घोष-ध्वजवर्णनम्)
निनाय समरे वीर: परलोकाय पाण्डव: । इसके बाद पाण्डुनन्दन वीरवर भीमसेनने समरभूमिमें घोड़े, ध्वज और सारथिसहित वीरबाहुको सत्तर बाणोंसे मारकर परलोक पहुँचा दिया
sañjaya uvāca | nināya samare vīraḥ paralokāya pāṇḍavaḥ |
Sañjaya said: In the thick of battle, the heroic Pāṇḍava sent his foe to the next world. Thereafter, the foremost of Pāṇḍu’s sons, the mighty Bhīmasena, struck down the warrior Vīrabāhu with seventy arrows—along with his horse, banner, and charioteer—thus dispatching him from the battlefield. The passage underscores the grim moral weight of war: valor is displayed through decisive action, yet every victory is inseparable from death and the inexorable law of consequence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh reality of kṣatriya-duty in war: valor is measured by steadfast action in battle, yet the ethical gravity remains—victory entails taking life, and the slain are spoken of as being sent to the ‘other world,’ reminding the listener of mortality and consequence.
Sañjaya reports that a Pāṇḍava hero dispatches an opponent in battle. The accompanying prose clarifies that Bhīma then kills the warrior Vīrabāhu with seventy arrows, also striking down his horse, banner, and charioteer, removing him completely from combat.