Shloka 30
युधिष्ठिरस्य धनंजय-प्रति गर्हा
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Reproach to Dhanaṃjaya
शल्यं नवत्या विव्याध त्रिसप्तत्या च सूतजम् । तांस्तस्य गोप्तृन् विव्याध त्रिभिस्त्रिभिरजिह्मगै:
śalyaṃ navatyā vivyādha trisaptatyā ca sūtajam | tāṃs tasya goptṝn vivyādha tribhis tribhir ajihmagaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: He pierced Śalya with ninety arrows, and the charioteer’s son Karṇa with seventy-three. Then he also struck down Karṇa’s protectors, piercing each of them with three straight-flying shafts—an image of disciplined, unswerving martial force amid the ruthless ethics of battlefield duty.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim discipline of kṣatriya-dharma in war: effectiveness, precision, and resolve are praised as martial virtues, even while the action underscores the tragic moral tension of duty expressed through violence.
In the battle report narrated by Sañjaya, a warrior (implied from context) shoots Śalya with ninety arrows and Karṇa with seventy-three, and then pierces Karṇa’s supporting defenders with three straight-flying arrows each.