Shloka 20
Abhimanyu-śravaṇa-prastāva and Cakravyūha-vinyāsa
Prelude to Abhimanyu’s Account and the Wheel-Formation Deployment
स कृत्वा दुष्करं कर्म हत्वा वीरान् सहस्रश: । षट्सु वीरेषु संसक्तो दौःशासनिवशं गत:,अभिमन्युने वह दुष्कर कर्म करके सहस्रों वीरोंका वध किया और अन्तमें छः वीरोंके साथ अकेला ही उलझकर दु:शासनपुत्रके हाथसे मारा गया
sa kṛtvā duṣkaraṃ karma hatvā vīrān sahasraśaḥ | ṣaṭsu vīreṣu saṃsaktaḥ dauḥśāsanivaśaṃ gataḥ ||
サञ्जयは言った。「彼は成し難き業を成し遂げ—勇士を千々に討ち—ついには六人の戦士を同時に相手取る戦いに絡め取られ、こうしてドゥフシャーサナの子の手によって最期を迎えた。」この詩句は、孤軍奮闘する者の比類なき武勇と、「多が一を討つ」ことが勝利の手段となる戦の陰鬱な道義的重みとを、ともに浮かび上がらせる。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between valor and the ethics of warfare: even supreme heroism can be overcome when many unite against one, raising questions about fairness (yuddha-dharma) and the moral cost of victory.
Sañjaya recounts how the young warrior (contextually Abhimanyu) performed an extraordinary feat by cutting down countless fighters, but was finally surrounded and engaged by six warriors and was killed by Duḥśāsana’s son.