Shloka 323
हित्वा नवगतीर्दुष्टाः स बाणानाहवे5त्यजत् | 'भीष्मजी युद्धस्थलमें दोषयुक्त आविद्ध आदि नौ गतियोंको छोड़कर केवल दसवीं गतिसे बाण छोड़ते थे। वे बाण पाण्डवपक्षके घोड़ों, रथों और हाथियोंका संहार करने लगे
hitvā navagatīr duṣṭāḥ sa bāṇān āhave 'tyajat |
Sañjaya said: Abandoning the nine flawed modes of missile-flight, he discharged arrows in battle only by the tenth, faultless trajectory. Those shafts then began to cut down the Pāṇḍava side’s horses, chariots, and elephants—showing how technical mastery in war, when joined to wrath, becomes a force of sweeping destruction.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how disciplined technique and discernment (rejecting “flawed” methods and choosing the correct one) can greatly amplify effectiveness; ethically, it also warns that excellence in skill, when applied in war, can intensify harm and thus demands responsibility and restraint.
Sañjaya reports a warrior’s superior archery: he abandons nine defective trajectories and shoots using a tenth, effective mode; as a result, the opposing (Pandava) forces’ key war-assets—horses, chariots, and elephants—are being systematically destroyed (as elaborated in the accompanying gloss).