Shloka 23
भूरिश्रवसः गर्हा, प्रायोपवेशः, सात्यकिकृतशिरच्छेदः
Bhūriśravas’s Censure, Prāyopaveśa, and Sātyaki’s Beheading
एतस्मिन्नन्तरे चैव कुरुराजं महारथम् । अवाकिरच्छरैईष्टो बहुभिर्मर्म भेदिभि:,तदनन्तर हर्षमें भरे हुए सात्यकिने महारथी कुरुराज दुर्योधनपर बहुत-से मर्मभेदी बाणोंकी वर्षा आरम्भ कर दी
etasminn antare caiva kururājaṃ mahāratham | avākirac charaiḥ iṣṭo bahubhir marma-bhedibhiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: In the meantime, Sātyaki—exultant and intent on striking true—began to shower the Kuru king Duryodhana, that great chariot-warrior, with many arrows that pierced the vital points.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield ethic where a warrior’s duty is executed through focused skill and resolve; yet it also implicitly raises the moral tension of war—how decisive action against an enemy can be ‘right’ within kṣatriya-dharma while still contributing to the tragic escalation of violence.
Sañjaya reports that Sātyaki, filled with martial ardor, launches a heavy volley of vital-point-piercing arrows at Duryodhana, the Kuru king, intensifying the duel and the broader clash in Droṇa Parva.