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 |
サンジャヤは言った。憐れみもなく、彼らはただ一人の若者に矢の雨を浴びせた。弓に秀でた残りの大車戦士たちも、アビマンニュの上へ次々と矢の斉射を注ぎはじめた。かくして、迅速さこそ求められるその刹那に、六人の冷酷な大戦士は、戦車を奪われた一人の少年へ矢の嵐を解き放った—戦場の力が道義の均衡を踏み外した光景である。
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.