Shloka 6
तैरस्तमुच्चावचमायुध॑ त- देक: प्रचिच्छेद किरीटमाली । क्षुरार्धचन्द्रेनिशितैश्व भल््लै: शिरांसि तेषां बहुधा च बाहून्
sañjaya uvāca | tair astam uccāvacam āyudhaṁ tad ekaḥ praciccheda kirīṭamālī | kṣurārdhacandrena niśitaiś ca bhallaiḥ śirāṁsi teṣāṁ bahudhā ca bāhūn |
Sañjaya sprach: Mit rasiermesserscharfen Pfeilen, halbmondförmigen Geschossen und schneidenden Bhallas zerschnitt der diademgeschmückte Arjuna—ganz allein—alle mannigfaltigen Waffen, die man gegen ihn schleuderte. Auch hieb er viele Köpfe und Arme ab, sodass die Krieger in verstreuten Stücken zur Erde fielen, entstellt wie Wälder, die ein wütender Sturm ausgerissen hat.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grim moral atmosphere of war: when conflict becomes inevitable, mastery and resolve can bring swift results, yet those results are inherently destructive. It implicitly contrasts martial excellence with the tragic fragmentation of life that war produces.
Sañjaya describes Arjuna, the diademed warrior, single-handedly cutting down the enemy’s incoming weapons and then severing many opponents’ heads and arms with sharp, specialized arrows (kṣura, ardhacandra, bhalla), causing them to fall in pieces like storm-uprooted forests.