Shloka 133
कर्णभीमसेनयुद्धम् | Karṇa–Bhīmasena Engagement
Chapter 111
मारुतिं पञ्चविंशत्या भैमसेनिं च पठ्चभि: । उसने इन्द्रके वज्ञकी भाँति घोर टंकार करनेवाले अपने भयंकर धनुषको तानकर भीमसेनको पचीस और उनके पुत्र घटोत्कचको पाँच बाण मारे
mārutiṃ pañcaviṃśatyā bhaimaseniṃ ca pañcabhiḥ | asau indrasya vajrasya bhānti ghora-ṭaṅkāra-karaṃ svakaṃ bhayaṅkaraṃ dhanuḥ tānayetvā bhīmasenaṃ pañcaviṃśatyā ghaṭotkacaṃ ca pañcabhiḥ śaraiḥ vivyādha |
Sañjaya said: Drawing his dreadful bow that roared terribly like Indra’s thunderbolt, he struck Bhīmasena with twenty-five arrows and Ghaṭotkaca, Bhīma’s son, with five. The scene underscores how, in the fury of war, prowess is displayed through measured, targeted force—yet the moral weight of violence remains, as each act of skill also deepens the tragedy of fratricidal conflict.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights martial excellence and deliberate action in battle—force is applied with precision (counted arrows), yet the ethical tension remains: skill in violence does not erase the sorrow and moral gravity of war among kin.
Sañjaya reports that a warrior, after drawing his terrifying, loudly twanging bow (likened to Indra’s thunderbolt), shoots Bhīma with twenty-five arrows and then shoots Bhīma’s son Ghaṭotkaca with five arrows.