Shloka 216
अध्याय १५९ — रात्रौ श्रमविरामः
Night Exhaustion and Brief Pause in Battle
जघान भीम॑ नाराचैस्तमप्यभ्यद्रवद् बली । तदनन्तर कर्णके सुविख्यात बलवान् भ्राता वकरथने आकर भीमसेनपर भी आक्रमण किया और उन्हें नाराचोंद्वारा घायल कर दिया
sañjaya uvāca |
jaghāna bhīmaṁ nārācais tam apy abhyadravad balī | tad-anantaraṁ karṇakeṣu su-vikhyātaḥ balavān bhrātā vakra-rathena ākramya bhīmasenaṁ punar api ākrāmat, taṁ ca nārācair vyathayām āsa ||
Sañjaya said: Bhīma struck him with nārāca arrows; yet that mighty warrior rushed back at Bhīma. Thereafter, the renowned and powerful brother, riding a chariot of curved course, charged Bhīmasena again and wounded him with nārāca shafts. In the relentless ethics of battlefield duty, each side answers injury with counter-assault, driven by loyalty to one’s cause and the harsh demands of kṣatriya warfare.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh logic of kṣatriya warfare: injury is met with immediate counter-attack, and warriors persist through pain out of duty, loyalty, and resolve. It implicitly raises the ethical tension between dharma as duty in war and the escalating cycle of retaliation.
Sañjaya reports a rapid exchange: Bhīma strikes an opponent with nārāca arrows; the opponent, though wounded, charges back. Then a renowned, powerful brother on a maneuvering chariot attacks Bhīma again and wounds him with nārāca shafts.