तस्मिंस् तु घोरे संग्रामे वर्तमाने भयंकरे ॥
दुःसहो नवभिर् बाणैर् अभिमन्युम् अविध्यत ॥
दुःशासनो द्वादशभिः कृपः शारद्वतस् त्रिभिः ॥
द्रोणस् तु सप्तदशभिः शरैर् आशीविषोपमैः ॥
विविंशतिस् तु विंशत्या कृतवर्मा च सप्तभिः ॥
बृहद्बलस् तथाष्टाभिर् अश्वत्थामा च सप्तभिः ॥
भूरिश्रवास् त्रिभिर् बाणैर् मद्रेशः षड्भिर् आशुगैः ॥
द्वाभ्यां शराभ्यां शकुनिस् त्रिभिर् दुर्योधनो नृपः ॥
tasmiṃs tu ghore saṃgrāme vartamāne bhayaṃkare ||
duḥsaho navabhir bāṇair abhimanyum avidhyata ||
duḥśāsano dvādaśabhiḥ kṛpaḥ śāradvatas tribhiḥ ||
droṇas tu saptadaśabhiḥ śarair āśīviṣopamaiḥ ||
viviṃśatis tu viṃśatyā kṛtavarmā ca saptabhiḥ ||
bṛhadbalas tathāṣṭābhir aśvatthāmā ca saptabhiḥ ||
bhūriśravās tribhir bāṇair madreśaḥ ṣaḍbhir āśugaiḥ ||
dvābhyāṃ śarābhyāṃ śakunis tribhir duryodhano nṛpaḥ ||
While that terrible, terrifying combat was going on, Duhsaha wounded Abhimanyu with nine arrows, Duhshasana with twelve, Kripa Sharadvata with three, and Drona with seventeen arrows resembling venomous serpents; Vivimshati with twenty, Kritavarman with seven, Brihadbala with eight, Ashvatthaman with seven, Bhurishravas with three arrows, the lord of the Madras with six swift ones, Shakuni with two arrows, and King Duryodhana with three.
a693a5c7e510 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:22:09 PM UTC
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The itemized tally of arrows driven into a single boy by a dozen warriors is an indictment of injustice: the tradition records each man down to the exact number of shafts. Thus memory lets no accomplice hide — everyone who wounded the child is named. It is telling that among them are both the teacher Drona and Duryodhana himself. The verse teaches that tradition keeps an exact count of wrongdoing, not letting it dissolve into the general chaos of battle; that everyone who raised a hand against the boy as part of the mob is entered by name into this tale as an accomplice; and that this meticulous reckoning is not a chronicler's dryness but a judgment: the number of arrows each man loosed is the measure of his share in the common crime, which neither valor nor noble birth can wash away.