Shloka 37
Irāvān-nidhana-anantaraṃ Ghaṭotkaca-nādaḥ
After Irāvān’s fall: Ghaṭotkaca’s roar and the clash with Duryodhana
भूरिश्रवास्तु समरे धृष्टकेतुं महारथम् । हतसूतहयं चक्रे विरथं सायकोत्तमै:,तब भूरिश्रवाने समरभूमिमें उत्तम सायकोंद्वारा महारथी धृष्टकेतुके घोड़ों और सारथिको मारकर उन्हें रथहीन कर दिया
sañjaya uvāca |
bhūriśravāstu samare dhṛṣṭaketuṃ mahāratham |
hatasūtahayaṃ cakre virathaṃ sāyakottamaiḥ ||
Sañjaya sprach: Mitten im Kampf erschoss Bhūriśravas mit vortrefflichen Pfeilen den Wagenlenker und die Pferde des großen Wagenkämpfers Dhṛṣṭaketu und machte ihn so wagenlos.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a battlefield reality within kṣatriya-dharma: victory often comes by disabling an enemy’s means of fighting—here, by killing the charioteer and horses—showing how strategy and force intertwine, even when the outcome is ethically harsh.
Sañjaya reports that Bhūriśravā attacks Dhṛṣṭaketu and, using superior arrows, kills Dhṛṣṭaketu’s charioteer and horses, leaving him without a chariot (viratha), thus placing him at a severe tactical disadvantage.