Shloka 69
चतुर्भि: सारथिं चास्य चतुर्भिश्चतुरों हयान् | तदनन्तर महाबली चेकितानने द्रोणाचार्यपर चढ़ाई की। उन्होंने दस बाणोंसे द्रोणको घायल करके उनकी छातीमें गहरी चोट पहुँचायी। साथ ही चार बाणोंसे उनके सारथिको और चार ही बाणोंद्वारा उनके चारों घोड़ोंको भी बींध डाला || ६८ इ ।। तमाचार्यस्त्रिभि्बाणैर्बाह्वोरुगसि चार्पयत्
caturbhiḥ sārathiṁ cāsya caturbhiś caturaḥ hayān | tad-anantaraṁ mahābalī cekitānaḥ droṇācāryaṁ paraṁ caḍhāyī | sa daśabhir bāṇair droṇaṁ viddhvā tasya vakṣasi gāḍhaṁ vyathāṁ cakāra | sahaiva caturbhiḥ śaraiḥ sārathiṁ caturbhiś ca tasya caturaḥ hayān api vivyādha ||
Sañjaya said: Then the mighty Cekitāna pressed his attack against Droṇācārya. Striking Droṇa with ten arrows, he inflicted a deep wound in his chest; and at the same time, with four arrows he pierced Droṇa’s charioteer, and with four more he struck down the four horses. The scene underscores the ruthless precision of battlefield skill, where disabling the chariot can be as decisive as wounding the warrior himself.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights a battlefield ethic where strategic disabling of an opponent’s mobility (chariot, horses, charioteer) can be as decisive as direct injury to the warrior. It reflects the harsh reality of kṣatriya warfare: skill and resolve operate within a moral tension between duty in war and the suffering inflicted.
Sañjaya reports that Cekitāna launches a strong assault on Droṇācārya, wounds Droṇa with ten arrows—especially in the chest—and simultaneously strikes Droṇa’s charioteer and the four horses with four arrows each, effectively crippling Droṇa’s chariot setup.