Shloka 17
Adhyāya 110: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament on Fate; Saṃjaya’s Reproof and the Princes’ Assault on Bhīma (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय ११०)
स भीम॑ पज्चभिर्विद्ध्वा शरैः संनतपर्वभि: । भैमान् परिजघानाशु रथांस्त्रिशतमाहवे,उसने झुकी हुई गाँठवाले पाँच बाणोंद्वारा भीमसेनको घायल करके उनके साथ आये हुए तीन सौ रथियोंका समरभूमिमें शीघ्र ही संहार कर डाला
sa bhīmaṃ pañcabhir viddhvā śaraiḥ sannatapārva-bhiḥ | bhaimān parijaghānāśu rathāṃs triśatam āhave ||
Sañjaya said: Having pierced Bhīmasena with five arrows whose joints were bent, he swiftly struck down in the battle three hundred chariot-warriors who had come in Bhīma’s support—an episode that underscores the ruthless momentum of war, where prowess and strategy overwhelm even formidable allies, raising the grim ethical tension between martial duty and the devastation it entails.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh reality of kṣatriya warfare: skill and force can rapidly overturn numbers and support, intensifying the ethical strain between duty in battle and the immense human cost of violence.
Sañjaya reports that a warrior pierces Bhīmasena with five specially described arrows and then quickly destroys three hundred chariot-warriors aligned with Bhīma on the battlefield.