Shloka 30
धृतराष्ट्र-संजय-संवादः — दुर्योधनस्य ह्रदप्रवेशः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Saṃjaya Dialogue: Duryodhana’s Entry into the Lake
त॑ भीमसेन: समरे विव्याध नवशभि: शरै: | शकुनिं च चतु:षष्ट्या पार्श्स्थांश्व त्रिभिस्त्रिभि:,तब भीमसेनने समरांगणमें नौ बाणोंसे उलूकको, चौसठ बाणोंसे शकुनिको और तीन- तीन बाणोंसे उसके पार्श्वरक्षकोंको भी घायल कर दिया
tataḥ bhīmasenaḥ samare vivyādha navaśabhīḥ śaraiḥ | śakuninaṃ ca catuḥṣaṣṭyā pārśvasthānś ca tribhis tribhiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then, in the thick of battle, Bhīmasena pierced Ulūka with nine arrows; Śakuni with sixty-four; and the attendants guarding Śakuni’s flanks with three arrows each—an act of forceful, targeted warfare meant to break the enemy’s support and protect his own side’s advance.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma in its battlefield form: decisive action, tactical targeting of key leaders and their protective ring, and the ethical logic of war-narrative where disabling an enemy’s command structure is treated as a legitimate means to reduce resistance and secure one’s side.
Sañjaya reports that Bhīma shoots Ulūka with nine arrows, then overwhelms Śakuni with sixty-four arrows, and also wounds Śakuni’s flank-guards with three arrows each—showing Bhīma’s intensity and a deliberate effort to isolate and pressure Śakuni.