Mahabharata 7.32.4 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 32, Shloka 4
Cakravyūha-saṃkalpaḥ, Saṃśaptaka-āhvānaṃ, Saubhadra-vikrīḍitam
Drona Parva, Adhyāya 32
षड्भिद्दुर्योधनो राजा तत एनमथाकिरत् । भीमसेनो<पि तानू सर्वान् प्रत्यविध्यन्महाबल:
ṣaḍbhir duryodhano rājā tata enam athākirat | bhīmaseno 'pi tānū sarvān pratyavidhyan mahābalaḥ ||
सञ्जय उवाच—ततो राजा दुर्योधनः षड्भिः शरैस्तमाकिरत्। ततः प्रत्युत भीमसेनो महाबलः तान् सर्वान् स्वशरैः प्रत्यविध्यत्॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the momentum of retaliation in war: an attack is met by an answering strike. Ethically, it reflects the battlefield tension between kṣatriya valor and the escalating cycle of violence that can overwhelm restraint.
Sañjaya reports a brief exchange: Duryodhana shoots a volley of six arrows at an opponent, and Bhīma responds by piercing all of them with his own arrows, demonstrating strength and immediate counteraction.
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