Mahabharata 7.33.20 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 33, 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:
sa kṛtvā duṣkaraṃ karma hatvā vīrān sahasraśaḥ | ṣaṭsu vīreṣu saṃsaktaḥ dauḥśāsanivaśaṃ gataḥ ||
అతడు అత్యంత దుష్కరమైన కార్యం చేసి వేలాది వీరులను సంహరించాడు; చివరికి ఆరుగురు వీరులతో ఒంటరిగా చిక్కుకొని దుఃశాసనుని కుమారుని చేతిలో మరణించాడు.
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.
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