Shloka 623
अजिशीर्षे प्रातःसंध्यायां संग्रामवर्णनम् / Dawn-Transition Battle at Ajiśīrṣa
Chapter 161
सारथेश्व शिर: कायादहरच्छत्रुतापन: । साथ ही उसके चारों घोड़ोंको चार भल्ल्लोंद्वारा यमलोक पहुँचा दिया। फिर शत्रुसंतापी अर्जुनने उसके सारथिका सिर धड़से अलग कर दिया
sārathes tu śiraḥ kāyād aharac chatrutāpanaḥ | sārdhaṃ ca tasya catvāro hayān catubhir bhallair yamalokaṃ prāpayām āsa | tataḥ śatrusaṃtāpī arjunas tasya sārather śiraḥ dhaḍasaḥ pṛthak cakāra |
Sañjaya said: The foe-scorching warrior cut off the charioteer’s head from his body. At the same time, with four sharp arrows he dispatched the four horses to the realm of Yama. Then Arjuna, tormentor of enemies, severed the charioteer’s head cleanly from the trunk.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the grim ethic of kṣatriya warfare: victory often depends on decisive, targeted action that removes an enemy’s capacity to fight (horses and charioteer). It also reminds the reader of mortality—‘Yamaloka’ frames death as an inevitable outcome of adharma-driven conflict and the inexorable law of consequence on the battlefield.
Sañjaya describes Arjuna’s swift battlefield action: he strikes down the chariot’s four horses with four arrows and then severs the charioteer’s head from the body, effectively neutralizing the opponent’s chariot and ending that combat threat.