Shloka 213
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 37: Sañjaya’s Account of Abhimanyu’s Precision Disruption of a Chariot Contingent
विव्याध दशभिर्बाणैस्तिष्ठ तिछेति चाब्रवीत् । इतनेमें ही अश्मकके पुत्रने सारथिके आदेशका पालन करनेवाले, गरुड और वायुके समान वेगशाली सुशिक्षित घोड़ोंद्वारा बड़ी तेजीसे वहाँ आकर अभिमन्युको रोका और दस बाण मारकर उसे घायल कर दिया, साथ ही इस प्रकार कहा--'अरे! खड़ा रह, खड़ा रह”
vivyādha daśabhir bāṇais tiṣṭha tiṣṭheti cābravīt |
Sañjaya said: He pierced him with ten arrows and called out, “Stand! Stand!” In the rush of battle, the son of the Aśmaka king—arriving swiftly with well-trained horses as fast as Garuḍa and the wind, obedient to his charioteer’s command—checked Abhimanyu’s advance, wounded him with ten shafts, and challenged him to halt. The moment underscores the relentless, coordinated pressure placed upon a lone warrior in war, where skill and speed are used not for restraint but to stop and overpower an opponent.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, coordinated speed and disciplined execution can be used to halt a powerful opponent; ethically, it points to the harsh reality that battlefield prowess often serves domination rather than restraint, testing the limits of dharma under extreme pressure.
A warrior identified as the son of the Aśmaka king/people rushes in with swift, well-trained horses, blocks Abhimanyu’s movement, wounds him with ten arrows, and challenges him with the command, “Stand! Stand!”