Shloka 56
तमापततन्तं सम्प्रेक्ष्य भारद्वाजसुतं रणे । विरथं विमुखं चैव पुनश्चक्रे महारथ:,रणभूमिमें द्रोणपुत्रको अपनी ओर आते देख महारथी सात्यकिने उसे पुनः रथहीन एवं युद्धसे विमुख कर दिया
tam āpatatantaṃ samprekṣya bhāradvājasutaṃ raṇe | virathaṃ vimukhaṃ caiva punaścakre mahārathaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Seeing the son of Bhāradvāja (Aśvatthāmā) rushing toward him on the battlefield, the great chariot-warrior Sātyaki once again rendered him without a chariot and turned away from the fight—an assertion of martial mastery amid the relentless ethics of war, where disabling an opponent’s means of combat becomes a decisive act.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh discipline of kṣatriya warfare: decisive action and superior skill can neutralize an aggressor by stripping him of his fighting platform (the chariot). It also gestures to the ethical tension of war—victory often comes through disabling rather than killing, yet it still forces the opponent into vulnerability and retreat.
Aśvatthāmā charges toward Sātyaki. Sātyaki, described as a mahāratha, sees him coming and again makes him viratha (chariotless) and vimukha (turned away from battle), indicating that Sātyaki has once more overpowered him and disrupted his ability to fight effectively.