Shloka 11
ततोस्य कार्मुकं द्वाभ्यां सूत॑ द्वाभ्यां च विव्यथे । चतुर्भिरश्चानू जवनाननयद् यमसादनम्
tato 'sya kārmukaṃ dvābhyāṃ sūtaṃ dvābhyāṃ ca vivyathe | caturbhir aśvānū javān ānayat yamasādanam ||
Sañjaya said: Then with two arrows he struck down his bow, and with two more he pierced the charioteer. With four arrows he dispatched the swift horses, sending them to Yama’s abode. The scene reveals battle’s ruthless efficiency: disabling the enemy’s means of fighting—weapon, driver, and steeds—becomes decisive, even as it deepens the moral weight of violence on the field.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a battlefield ethic of decisive action: neutralizing the opponent’s capacity to fight (weapon, driver, and horses) is portrayed as an effective tactic, while also reminding the listener of the grave moral and existential consequence—death—ever-present in war.
In Sañjaya’s report of the combat, a warrior strikes an opponent’s bow with two arrows, wounds the charioteer with two more, and then kills the swift horses with four arrows, thereby crippling the enemy chariot and sending the slain to Yama’s abode.