Shloka 20
Chapter 136: Pandava Counter-Encirclement and the Vāyavya-Astra Disruption
तस्मिन् क्षणे महाराज नवभिर्नतपर्वभि:
tasmin kṣaṇe mahārāja navabhir nataparvabhiḥ
Sañjaya said: “At that very moment, O great king, (he/they were assailed) by nine (weapons/shafts) whose joints were bent—swiftly striking in the crisis of battle.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The line underscores the suddenness of karmic consequence in war: in a single instant, decisive blows can arrive. It also highlights Sañjaya’s role as a truthful witness, reminding the king that royal decisions culminate in immediate, tangible suffering on the battlefield.
Sañjaya addresses Dhṛtarāṣṭra and marks a critical instant in the fighting, describing an attack involving “nine” and the striking of jointed/bent shafts or weapons—signaling a rapid, concentrated assault within the ongoing Drona-parvan battle sequence.