Shloka 24
Adhyāya 21 — Duryodhanasya bāṇavarṣaḥ
Duryodhana’s Arrow-Storm and the Dust-Obscured Engagements
तच्छूलं सात्वतो हाजोौ निर्भिद्य निशितै: शरै: । चूर्णितं पातयामास मोहयन्निव माधवम्,परंतु सात्यकिने युद्धस्थलमें अपने पैने बाणोंद्वारा उस शूलको काटकर चकनाचूर कर दिया और कृतवर्माकों मोहमें डालते हुए-से उस चूर-चूर हुए शूलको पृथ्वीपर गिरा दिया
tacchūlaṃ sātvato hājo nirbhidya niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ | cūrṇitaṃ pātayāmāsa mohayann iva mādhavam ||
Sañjaya said: The Sātvata warrior pierced and shattered that spear with his keen arrows and, as though bewildering Mādhava himself, caused the splintered weapon to fall to the earth.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in violent conflict, the text highlights disciplined skill and alertness: a lethal threat is met not with panic but with precise action, suggesting that steadiness of mind is a decisive ethical and practical strength in crisis.
Sañjaya describes a battlefield moment where the Sātvata hero (typically Sātyaki) counters an incoming spear by striking it with sharp arrows, shattering it and making the broken weapon fall to the ground, in a display likened to ‘bewildering’ Mādhava.