Shloka 153
विनिर्भिन्ना: शरैस्ती4णैनिपितुर्वसुधातले । दुःशासनने वहाँ युद्धके मैदानमें कितने ही रथियोंको रथहीन कर दिया। उसके तीखे बाणोंसे विदीर्ण होकर बहुत-से महाधनुर्धर घुड़सवार और महाबली गजारोही पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़े
vinirbhinnāḥ śarais tīkṣṇair nipetur vasudhātale | duḥśāsanena vai yuddhakṣetre bahavo rathino rathahīnāḥ kṛtāḥ | tasya tīkṣṇaśarair vidīrṇā bahavo mahādhanurdharā aśvārohā mahābalino gajārohāś ca pṛthivyāṃ nipetuḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Pierced through by Duḥśāsana’s sharp arrows, many warriors fell upon the earth. On that battlefield he stripped numerous chariot-fighters of their chariots, and, torn by his keen shafts, many great bowmen—horsemen and mighty elephant-riders—collapsed to the ground. The scene underscores how martial prowess, when unmoored from restraint, turns the field into a spectacle of ruin where status and strength offer no refuge from the consequences of violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the destructive momentum of war: prowess can rapidly reduce even elite fighters to helplessness. Ethically, it points to the grim fruits of conflict driven by adharma—where power and rank do not shield one from suffering, and violence multiplies consequences across all sides.
Sañjaya reports Duḥśāsana’s effectiveness in combat: with sharp arrows he wounds and fells many fighters, disables chariot-warriors by making them lose their chariots, and brings down horsemen and elephant-riders onto the ground.