Shloka 13
भीमसेनस्य वेगाभिपातः—विशोकसारथिसंवादश्च
Bhīma’s surge and dialogue with charioteer Viśoka
युधिष्ठिरस्त्रिसप्तत्या प्रतिविन्ध्यश्न सप्तभि: । श्रुतकर्मा त्रिभि्बाणि: श्रुतकीर्तिश्व सप्तभि:,युधिष्ठिरने तिहत्तर, प्रतिविन्ध्यने सात, श्रुतकर्माने तीन, श्रुतकीर्तिने सात, सुतसोमने नौ और शतानीकने उसे सात बाण मारे तथा दूसरे बहुत-से शूरवीरोंने भी अश्वत्थामाको चारों ओरसे घायल कर दिया
sañjaya uvāca |
yudhiṣṭhiras trisaptatyā pratīvindhyaś ca saptabhiḥ |
śrutakarmā tribhir bāṇaiḥ śrutakīrtiś ca saptabhiḥ ||
(sutasomaḥ navabhiḥ śatānīkaś ca saptabhiḥ) iti bhāvārthaḥ |
Sañjaya said: Yudhiṣṭhira struck Aśvatthāman with seventy-three arrows; Pratīvindhya with seven; Śrutakarman with three; and Śrutakīrti with seven. (Likewise Sutasoma with nine and Śatānīka with seven.) Thus, along with many other valiant warriors, they wounded Aśvatthāman from all sides—an image of coordinated martial pressure in the midst of a dharma-war where prowess is tempered by the larger duty to restrain a dangerous foe.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in the fury of battle, action is framed by kṣatriya-dharma: coordinated force is used to check a powerful adversary, not as mere cruelty but as disciplined execution of duty within a larger moral order.
Sañjaya reports that Yudhiṣṭhira and the Upapāṇḍava princes (Pratīvindhya, Śrutakarman, Śrutakīrti, Sutasoma, Śatānīka) shower Aśvatthāman with specified numbers of arrows, and other warriors also strike him, wounding him from all directions.