Shloka 52
Chapter 51: Saṃdhyākāla-saṃhāra
Evening Withdrawal after Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
ततः क्रुद्धों महेष्वास: सप्तभल्लै: सुतेजनै: । धनूंषि तेषामाच्छिद्य ममर्द पृतनापति:
tataḥ kruddho maheṣvāsaḥ saptabhallaiḥ sutejanaiḥ | dhanūṃṣi teṣām ācchidya mamarda pṛtanāpatiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then the great archer, the commander of the host, enraged, with seven keenly whetted arrows called bhallas, cut away the bows of those warriors and crushed their fighting power.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a battlefield ethic where superior skill is shown through precise, goal-directed action—disarming by cutting bows—demonstrating controlled application of force within kṣatriya-dharma rather than mere indiscriminate killing.
Sañjaya reports that an enraged great archer, the army commander, uses seven razor-sharp bhalla arrows to sever the bows of the opposing warriors, thereby neutralizing them and asserting dominance in the fight.