Shloka 25
Adhyāya 21 — Duryodhanasya bāṇavarṣaḥ
Duryodhana’s Arrow-Storm and the Dust-Obscured Engagements
ततो5परेण भल््लेन हृद्येनं समताडयत् | स युद्धे युयुधानेन हताश्वो हतसारथि:
tato 'pareṇa bhallena hṛd yenaṃ samatāḍayat | sa yuddhe yuyudhānena hatāśvo hatasārathiḥ ||
Then, with another sharp bhalla-arrow, he struck him in the region of the heart. In that battle, Yuyudhāna (Sātyaki) left him with his horses slain and his charioteer killed.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh realism of kṣatriya-duty in war: victory often comes by disabling an opponent’s means of fighting (chariot, horses, charioteer) through swift, decisive action. It implicitly contrasts disciplined martial purpose with needless cruelty, showing combat as a domain governed by role-based dharma rather than personal malice.
Sañjaya reports that a warrior is struck in the heart with another bhalla-arrow, and that in the same battle Yuyudhāna (Sātyaki) leaves him ‘hatāśva’ and ‘hatasārathi’—his horses and charioteer are killed—so his chariot is effectively neutralized.