Shloka 41
जयद्रथवधः — The Slaying of Jayadratha
Sunset Vow and Curse-Condition
अच्छिनत् सात्यकी राजन नैनं ते प्राप्तुवत् शरा: । राजन! वेगशाली सात्यकिने झुकी हुई गाँठवाले अपने बाणोंद्वारा उन सबके बाणों तथा अन्य अस्त्रोंको काट गिराया। वे बाण उनके पासतक पहुँच न सके ।। रुक्मपुड्खै: सुनिशितैर्गार्ध्रपत्रैरजिह्मुगैः,उन भयंकर वीरने सब ओर घूम-घूमकर सोनेके पुंख और गीधकी पाँखवाले तीखे बाणोंसे यवनोंके मस्तक, भुजाएँ तथा लाल लोहे एवं काँसेके बने हुए कवच भी काट डाले
sañjaya uvāca | acchinat sātyakī rājan nainaṃ te prāptuvat śarāḥ | rājann vegaśālī sātyakinā jhukī-huī gāṇṭha-vāle svabāṇair teṣāṃ sarveṣāṃ bāṇān anyāni cāstrāṇi ca chittvā nipātitāni | te bāṇāḥ tasya samīpaṃ na prāpuḥ || rukmapuṅkhaiḥ suniśitaiḥ gārdhrapatrair ajihmugaiḥ sa bhayaṅkara-vīraḥ sarvato bhraman yavanānāṃ mastakān bhujāś ca loha-tāmra-nirmita-kavacāni ca ciccheda ||
Sañjaya said: O King, Sātyaki cut down their missiles; none of those arrows could reach him. With swift, well-aimed shafts—knotted and forceful—he severed and brought down all their arrows and other weapons before they could come near. Then that dreadful warrior, wheeling in every direction, with razor-sharp arrows tipped with gold and fletched with vulture-feathers, struck down the Yavanas—cleaving heads and arms, and even slicing through their iron and bronze armor. The passage underscores disciplined martial skill used as protective counter-force in battle: not reckless slaughter, but mastery that neutralizes incoming harm and breaks the enemy’s capacity to strike.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined mastery in action: a warrior’s excellence is shown not merely by striking, but by neutralizing threats before they cause harm. In dharmic terms, skill and alertness become a form of protection—reducing danger to oneself and one’s side by cutting down incoming weapons.
Sañjaya describes Sātyaki’s battlefield feat: he intercepts and cuts the enemy’s arrows and other missiles so they cannot reach him, then circles swiftly and strikes the Yavana fighters, severing heads, arms, and even cutting through iron/bronze armor with sharp, straight-flying, gold-fitted, vulture-feathered arrows.