Shloka 42
भूरिश्रवसः गर्हा, प्रायोपवेशः, सात्यकिकृतशिरच्छेदः
Bhūriśravas’s Censure, Prāyopaveśa, and Sātyaki’s Beheading
स सिंहदंष्टो जानुभ्यां पतितो5मितविक्रम: । शरार्दित: सात्यकिना रथोपस्थे नरर्षभ:,सिंहके समान दाँतोंवाला अमितपराक्रमी नरश्रेष्ठ कृतवर्मा सात्यकिके बाणोंसे पीड़ित हो घुटनोंके बलसे रथकी बैठकमें गिर गया
sa siṁhadaṁṣṭro jānubhyāṁ patito 'mitavikramaḥ | śarārditaḥ sātyakinā rathopasthe nararṣabhaḥ ||
Sañjaya sprach: Kṛtavarmā — löwenzähnig, ein Stier unter den Männern und von unermesslicher Kraft —, von Sātyakis Pfeilen verwundet und unablässig bedrängt, sank auf die Knie und stürzte auf den Sitz seines Streitwagens.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of martial glory: even a famed warrior can be suddenly humbled by the direct results of combat. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring reminder that prowess and status do not exempt one from consequence, and that war rapidly reduces heroic ideals to bodily vulnerability.
Sañjaya reports that Kṛtavarmā, struck and pressured by Sātyaki’s arrows, loses strength and collapses—falling onto his knees and down onto the chariot seat—signaling a momentary defeat or incapacitation amid the ongoing battle.