Shloka 8
कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke
धुर्यान् धुर्यगतान् सूतान् ध्वजांश्वापानि सायकान् | पाणीन् सरत्नानसकृद् भल्लैश्रिच्छेद पाण्डव:
dhuryān dhuryagatān sūtān dhvajān śvāpāni sāyakān | pāṇīn saratnān asakṛd bhallaiś ciccheda pāṇḍavaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: The Pāṇḍava (Arjuna), again and again, with sharp bhalla-arrows, cut down the burden-bearing horses yoked to the enemy chariots, the charioteers, the standards, the bows, the arrows, and even the jewel-adorned hands.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim discipline of kṣatriya-duty in war: Arjuna’s repeated, targeted strikes show controlled skill applied to a violent context, where effectiveness and resolve are treated as obligations within the battlefield code.
Sañjaya reports that Arjuna repeatedly severs key components of enemy chariots—yoked horses, charioteers, banners, bows, arrows, and even the opponents’ jewel-adorned hands—using sharp bhalla-arrows, thereby disabling and dismantling the enemy’s fighting capacity.