Shloka 333
अभिमन्युवधः
Abhimanyu’s Fall and the Battlefield Aftermath
शरवर्षरकरुणा बालमेकमवाकिरन् । शेष महारथी धनुष कट जानेपर अभिमन्युके ऊपर बाणोंकी वर्षा करने लगे। इस प्रकार शीघ्रता करनेके अवसरपर शीघ्रता करनेवाले छः निर्दय महारथी एक रथहीन बालकपर बाणोंकी बौछार करने लगे
śaravarṣa-rakaruṇā bālam ekam avākiran | śeṣā mahārathī dhanuṣ-kaṭa-jānepara abhimanyuke upari bāṇānāṁ varṣāṁ kartum ārabdhavantaḥ | evaṁ śīghratā-karaṇe ’vasare śīghratā-kartāraḥ ṣaḍ nirdāyā mahārathinaḥ ekaṁ rathahīnaṁ bālakaṁ prati bāṇa-bauṣāraṁ pracakruḥ |
Sañjaya said: They showered the lone youth with a rain of arrows, showing no compassion. The remaining great chariot-warriors, skilled in the bow, began to pour down volleys upon Abhimanyu. Thus, at a moment that demanded swift action, six ruthless masters of war unleashed a storm of arrows against a single boy who had been deprived of his chariot—an image of battlefield power turned into moral imbalance.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical collapse that can occur in war: when many powerful warriors collectively attack a single, vulnerable opponent (here, a chariotless youth), martial skill becomes morally compromised. It implicitly contrasts prowess with dharma—strength without compassion and fairness becomes cruelty.
Sañjaya describes Abhimanyu being targeted by a concentrated barrage of arrows. Multiple elite warriors—six in number—coordinate their attack against him when he is alone and without his chariot, intensifying the sense of injustice and impending tragedy.