Shloka 203
Chapter 12: Arjuna’s suppression of the Saṃśaptakas and duel with Aśvatthāmā
Drauṇi
क्षुरप्रेण सुतीक्ष्णेणन अनुविन्दशिरोडहरत् । महाराज! फिर तो रणदुर्मद सात्यकि कुपित हो उठे। उन्होंने युद्धस्थलमें दूसरा धनुष लेकर उसकी प्रत्यंचा चढ़ायी और एक अत्यन्त तीखे क्षुरप्रके द्वारा अनुविन्दका सिर काट लिया
sañjaya uvāca | kṣurapreṇa sutīkṣṇena anuvindaśiro'harat | mahārāja! tataḥ raṇadurmadaḥ sātyakiḥ kupito'bhavat | sa yuddhasthale dvitīyaṃ dhanuḥ gṛhītvā tasya pratyāñcāṃ samāropya, atyantatīkṣṇena kṣurapreṇa anuvindasya śiraś ciccheda |
Sanjaya said: With a razor-edged arrow, exceedingly sharp, he struck off Anuvinda’s head. O King, then Satyaki—intoxicated with the fury of battle—rose in anger. On the battlefield he took up another bow, strung it, and with a supremely keen razor-headed shaft severed Anuvinda’s head.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger and battle-intoxication (raṇadurmada, krodha) can eclipse restraint, leading to decisive and irreversible violence. Even within kṣatriya duty, the Mahābhārata frames such moments as part of war’s moral cost—actions may be ‘permitted’ by role, yet they deepen the tragedy and karmic weight of conflict.
Sanjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Satyaki, enraged in the thick of battle, takes up another bow, strings it, and with a very sharp razor-headed arrow severs Anuvinda’s head.