Shloka 42
थनुश्विच्छेद भल््लेन जघानाश्रांश्व सप्तभि: । ध्वजमेकेषुणोन्मथ्य त्रिभिस्तं हृद्यताडयत्
sañjaya uvāca | dhanuḥ-śviccheda-bhallena jaghānāśrāṃś ca saptabhiḥ | dhvajam ekeṣuṇonmathya tribhis taṃ hṛdi atāḍayat ||
সঞ্জয় বললেন—ক্ষুরধার ভল্লবাণে সে তার ধনুক কেটে দিল, আর সাতটি বাণে ঘোড়াগুলোকে নিপাত করল। একটিমাত্র বাণে ধ্বজ উপড়ে ফেলে, পরে তিনটি বাণে বৃষসেনের বক্ষে আঘাত করল।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the battlefield ethic of kṣatriya-dharma: victory is pursued through decisive, technically precise action—disabling the opponent’s mobility (horses), weapon (bow), and morale-symbol (banner)—even when such efficiency entails severe violence.
In the clash described by Sañjaya, the attacker cuts the opponent’s bow with a bhalla arrow, kills the horses with seven arrows, knocks down the banner with one arrow, and then strikes Vṛṣasena in the chest with three arrows; the accompanying tradition identifies the charioteer as also being slain in this sequence.