Shloka 29
भीष्मधनंजयद्वैरथम्
Bhīṣma–Dhanaṃjaya Duel and the Opening Clash
प्रत्यविध्यदमेयात्मा किरीटी भरतर्षभ । भरतश्रेष्ठ! तत्पश्चात् अमेय आत्मबलसे सम्पन्न, किरीटधारी पुरुषसिंह अर्जुनने भीष्मको पचीस, कृपाचार्यको नौ, द्रोणको साठ, विकर्णको तीन, शल्यको तीन तथा राजा दुर्योधनको पाँच बाणोंसे घायल कर दिया || २७-२८ हू || त॑ सात्यकिर्विराटश्न धृष्टद्युम्नश्व॒ पार्षत:
sañjaya uvāca | pratyavidhyad ameyātmā kirīṭī bharatarṣabha | bharataśreṣṭha! tatpaścāt ameya ātmabalena sampannaḥ kirīṭadhārī puruṣasiṃhaḥ arjunaḥ bhīṣmaṃ pañcaviṃśatyā kṛpācāryaṃ navabhiḥ droṇaṃ ṣaṣṭyā vikarṇaṃ tribhiḥ śalyaṃ tribhiḥ tathā rājānaṃ duryodhanaṃ pañcabhiḥ bāṇaiḥ ghālayāmāsa ||
Wika ni Sañjaya: O toro sa mga Bharata, ang koronadong Arjuna—na di-masukat ang diwa at lakas—ay saka tinamaan ang kanyang mga kaaway ng mga palasong hindi pumapalya: si Bhīṣma ng dalawampu’t lima, si Kṛpa ng siyam, si Droṇa ng animnapu, si Vikarna ng tatlo, si Śalya ng tatlo, at si Haring Duryodhana ng lima. Ipinakikita ng tagpong ito ang madilim na disiplina ng digmaan, kung saan ang galing at paninindigan ay inilalantad nang walang pag-aatubili, kahit laban sa iginagalang na guro at kamag-anak.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kshatriya ethic of resolute action in battle: Arjuna, endowed with immense inner strength, performs his martial duty without wavering, even when the opponents include elders and teachers. It reflects the Mahabharata’s tension between reverence for persons and commitment to one’s role-bound obligations (dharma) in a tragic war.
Sanjaya reports that Arjuna, wearing his diadem, shoots multiple leading Kaurava warriors—Bhishma, Kripa, Drona, Vikarna, Shalya, and Duryodhana—wounding each with a specified number of arrows. The detail emphasizes Arjuna’s battlefield dominance and the escalating intensity of the Kurukshetra combat.