Shloka 58
Chapter 51: Saṃdhyākāla-saṃhāra
Evening Withdrawal after Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
तस्य देहे निपतितो बाणो वज्जातिगो महान्
sañjaya uvāca | tasya dehe nipatito bāṇo vajrātigo mahān | tena bāṇena saṃviddho rukmarathaḥ pṛṣṭhabhāge rathasya niṣasāda | sa ca paramamūrcchitaḥ ||
Sanjaya said: A mighty arrow, hard as a thunderbolt, struck Rukmaratha in the body. Wounded grievously by that shaft, Rukmaratha sank down onto the rear of his chariot and fell into deep swoon. In the moral atmosphere of the war, the verse underscores the stark immediacy of battlefield consequences—valor and skill manifest as decisive force, while the wounded warrior’s collapse evokes the fragility of embodied life amid the demands of kṣatriya-duty.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the immediacy of karmic consequence in war: martial skill and force bring swift results, while the wounded body’s collapse reminds the listener of human fragility. It frames battlefield action within the kṣatriya world where duty is pursued amid unavoidable suffering.
Sanjaya reports that a powerful, thunderbolt-like arrow strikes Rukmaratha. Severely wounded, Rukmaratha slumps to the rear of his chariot and loses consciousness.