Shloka 28
स विद्ध्वा मर्मसु द्रौर्णि पाण्डव: परवीरहा । सारथिं चास्य भल्लेन रथनीडादपातयत्,शत्रुवीरोंका संहार करनेवाले पाण्डुपुत्र अर्जुनने अश्वत्थामाके मर्मस्थानोंमें चोट पहुँचाकर एक भल्लसे उसके सारथिको रथकी बैठकसे नीचे गिरा दिया
sa viddhvā marmasu drauṇi pāṇḍavaḥ paravīrahā | sārathiṁ cāsya bhallena rathanīḍād apātayat ||
Sañjaya said: Arjuna, the Pāṇḍava—slayer of enemy champions—struck Aśvatthāmā, Droṇa’s son, in his vital points. Then, with a sharp arrow, he felled Aśvatthāmā’s charioteer from the chariot-seat.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim reality of kṣatriya warfare: mastery involves precise, decisive action against an opponent’s vulnerabilities. Ethically, it points to the tension between duty in battle and the heavy consequences of violence, a recurring Mahābhārata theme.
Arjuna attacks Aśvatthāmā effectively, striking his vital points, and then shoots down Aśvatthāmā’s charioteer with a bhalla-arrow, causing him to fall from the chariot-seat—an act that can destabilize an enemy’s combat capacity.