Shloka 4
दशभिर्दशभिर्बाणैर्धुश्द्युम्मशिखण्डिनौ । दृढै: पूर्णायतोत्सूष्टैबिंभेद नतपर्वभि:,उसने पूर्णतः खींचकर छोड़े गये झुकी हुई गाँठवाले दस-दस सुदृढ़ बाणोंद्वारा धृष्टद्युम्न और शिखण्डीको घायल कर दिया
sañjaya uvāca | daśabhir daśabhir bāṇair dhṛṣṭadyumnam śikhaṇḍinaṃ ca | dṛḍhaiḥ pūrṇāyatotsṛṣṭair bimbheda nataparvabhiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: With volleys of ten arrows at a time—hard, well-drawn, and released at full stretch, their joints bent—he struck and pierced both Dhṛṣṭadyumna and Śikhaṇḍin. The scene underscores the grim ethic of the battlefield: prowess and resolve are measured in disciplined force, even as such force inflicts suffering on renowned warriors.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield dimension of kṣatriya-dharma: disciplined strength and precision are exercised without hesitation in war, yet the narration also implicitly points to the heavy moral weight of violence—heroic skill and human suffering coexist.
Sañjaya reports that an unnamed warrior (contextually, the opposing archer in that exchange) shoots repeated volleys—ten arrows at a time—fully drawn and forcefully released, piercing and wounding both Dhṛṣṭadyumna and Śikhaṇḍin.