Shloka 64
Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)
कार्मुकं चास्य चिच्छेद क्षुराभ्यां ध्वजमेव च । तब धर्मराजने उसे शीघ्रतापूर्वक छः: बाणोंसे बींध डाला तथा दो क्षुरोंसे उसके धनुष और ध्वजको काट दिया ।। ततो<स्य दीप्यमानेन सुदृढेन शितेन च
kārmukaṃ cāsya ciccheda kṣurābhyāṃ dhvajam eva ca | tato 'sya dīpyamānena sudṛḍhena śitena ca ||
Sanjaya said: With two razor-edged arrows Yudhiṣṭhira swiftly severed his opponent’s bow, and he also cut down the very banner. Then, with a blazing, firmly driven, keen shaft, he pressed the attack further—showing the disciplined resolve of a king who fights without malice yet without hesitation in the demands of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid violence, dharma is expressed through restraint and precision: disabling an opponent’s means of combat (bow and banner) reflects controlled force rather than uncontrolled cruelty, aligning battle-action with disciplined duty.
Sañjaya describes a rapid battlefield exchange in which the attacker uses two razor-edged arrows to cut the opponent’s bow and standard, then follows up with a blazing, firmly driven, sharp arrow—indicating continued pressure after disarming strikes.