Shloka 286
भीमसेन–कर्णयुद्धवर्णनम्
Description of the Bhīmasena–Karṇa Engagement
वासुदेवं च विंशत्या पुनः पार्थ च पञठ्चभि: । तत्पश्चात् अश्वत्थामाने अर्जुनपर साठ बाण बरसाये, फिर श्रीकृष्णको बीस और अर्जुनको भी पाँच बाण मारे
vāsudevaṃ ca viṃśatyā punaḥ pārthaṃ ca pañcabhiḥ | tatpaścād aśvatthāmāne arjunapara ṣaṣṭiṃ bāṇān abravṣayat |
Sañjaya said: Then he again struck Vāsudeva with twenty arrows, and Pārtha (Arjuna) with five. After that, Aśvatthāman poured down a shower of sixty arrows upon Arjuna—an escalation of force in the relentless ethics-straining violence of the battlefield.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how quickly violence escalates in war: measured strikes become overwhelming barrages. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, it underscores the strain placed on dharma in battle—where duty and survival can drive increasingly severe actions.
Sañjaya reports that Aśvatthāman (or the attacking warrior in this sequence) hits Kṛṣṇa (Vāsudeva) with twenty arrows and Arjuna with five, and then intensifies the assault by showering Arjuna with sixty arrows.