Shloka 31
अध्याय ९९ — युयुधान-दुःशासन-युद्धम्
Chapter 99: Sātyaki and Duḥśāsana’s engagement
बलवान् आचार्यने चौंसठ बाणोंसे धृष्टद्युम्नके चारों घोड़ोंको मार डाला। फिर दो भल्लोंसे ध्वज और छत्र काटकर उनके दोनों पार्श्वरक्षकोंको भी मार गिराया ।। अथास्मै त्वरितो बाणमपरं जीवितान्तकम् | आकर्णपूर्ण चिक्षेप वजं वजधरो यथा,तदनन्तर तुरंत ही एक दूसरा प्राणान््तकारी बाण कानतक खींचकर उनके ऊपर चलाया, मानो वज्रधारी इन्द्रने वज्ञ मारा हो
sañjaya uvāca |
balavān ācāryaṇe catuḥṣaṣṭi-bāṇaiḥ dhṛṣṭadyumnasya caturaḥ aśvān jaghāna | tataḥ dvābhyāṃ bhallābhyāṃ dhvajaṃ chatraṃ ca ciccheda, tasya ubhau pārśvarakṣakau api nipātayām āsa ||
athāsmai tvarito bāṇam aparaṃ jīvitāntakam |
ākārṇapūrṇaṃ cikṣepa vajraṃ vajradharo yathā ||
Sañjaya said: The mighty preceptor struck down all four of Dhṛṣṭadyumna’s horses with sixty-four arrows. Then, with two broad-headed shafts, he cut down the banner and the parasol, and he also felled the two flank-guards. After that, swiftly, he hurled yet another arrow—deadly enough to end life—drawing the bow to the ear, as if Indra, bearer of the thunderbolt, were casting his vajra.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the grim logic of kṣatriya warfare: mastery of skill and decisive action can overturn an opponent’s protection and symbols of command. Ethically, it underscores how war reduces persons and emblems—horses, guards, banner, parasol—to targets, showing the escalating cost of conflict even when fought under the banner of duty.
Sañjaya describes Droṇa’s rapid, overwhelming attack on Dhṛṣṭadyumna: he kills the four horses, cuts down the banner and parasol, fells the side-guards, and then shoots another fully drawn, life-ending arrow, likened to Indra hurling the thunderbolt.