Shloka 17
Duryodhana’s Anxiety, Bhīṣma’s Reassurance, and Renewed Mobilization (दुर्योधनचिन्ता–भीष्मप्रत्याश्वासन–सेनानिर्गमनम्)
दुर्योधनस्तु दशभिर्गार्ध्रपत्रै: शिलाशितै: । भीमसेनं महेष्वासं रुक्मपुड्खै: समार्पयत्
duryodhanas tu daśabhir gārdhrapatraiḥ śilāśitaiḥ | bhīmasenaṃ maheṣvāsaṃ rukmapuṅkhaiḥ samārpayat ||
سنجے نے کہا: مگر دُریودھن نے گِدھ کے پروں سے آراستہ، پتھر پر تیز کیے ہوئے اور سنہری پُر (پُکھ) والے دس تیروں سے مہا دھنُردھر بھیم سین کو بیندھ کر سخت زخم پہنچایا۔
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how, once war is embraced, determination and skill are often directed toward harm; it implicitly warns that unchecked enmity escalates suffering, even while depicting the kṣatriya ideal of steadfastness in combat.
Sañjaya reports that Duryodhana shoots Bhīma with ten sharp, well-crafted arrows (stone-whetted, vulture-feathered, gold-fletched), wounding the powerful Pāṇḍava warrior in the midst of battle.