Shloka 17
Adhyāya 21 — Duryodhanasya bāṇavarṣaḥ
Duryodhana’s Arrow-Storm and the Dust-Obscured Engagements
ततः पूर्णायतोत्सृष्टे: कृतवर्मा शिलाशितै: । सात्यकिं त्रिभिराहत्य धनुरेकेन चिच्छिदे,यह देख कृतवर्माने धनुषको पूर्णतः खींचकर छोड़े गये और शिलापर तेज किये हुए तीन बाणोंसे सात्यकिको घायल करके एकसे उनके धनुषको काट डाला
tataḥ pūrṇāyatotsṛṣṭeḥ kṛtavarmā śilāśitaiḥ | sātyakiṃ tribhir āhatya dhanur ekena cicchide ||
Sañjaya said: Then Kṛtavarmā, releasing his arrows drawn to the full, struck Sātyaki with three shafts sharpened on stone; and with a single arrow he cut Sātyaki’s bow.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores a battlefield ethic where superior skill is used to neutralize an opponent’s fighting capacity—here by cutting the bow—showing that in kṣatriya warfare, strategy and restraint can appear as ‘disarming’ rather than immediate killing, even amid relentless violence.
Sañjaya reports that Kṛtavarmā fires fully drawn arrows: three strike Sātyaki, and a fourth severs Sātyaki’s bow, leaving him momentarily disarmed.