Shloka 393
शकुनिवधः — Sahadeva’s Slaying of Śakuni
with Ulūka’s fall
शिरक्षिच्छेद सहसा तप्तकुण्डलभूषणम् । प्रभो! उस समय महायशस्वी पाण्डुनन्दन अर्जुनने क्षुरप्रद्वारा सत्यकर्मापर प्रहार करके उसके रथकी ईषा (हरसा) काट डाली। तत्पश्चात् उन महायशस्वी वीरने शिलापर तेज किये हुए क्षुरप्रद्वारा उसके तपाये हुए सुवर्णके कुण्डलोंसे विभूषित मस्तकको सहसा काट लिया
śiraś ciccheda sahasā taptakuṇḍalabhūṣaṇam | prabho! tadā mahāyaśasvī pāṇḍunandana arjuno kṣurapreṇāstrair satyakarmāparaṃ prahāraṃ kṛtvā tasya rathasya īṣāṃ (harasāṃ) ciccheda | tataḥ paścāt sa mahāyaśasvī vīraḥ śilāyāṃ tejaḥ-kṛtena kṣureṇa tasya taptasuvarṇa-kuṇḍalair vibhūṣitaṃ mastakaṃ sahasā ciccheda |
Sañjaya said: In that moment, Arjuna—the illustrious son of Pāṇḍu—struck with a razor-edged arrow and cut the axle/pole of his opponent’s chariot. Then, with another keen, whetted razor-arrow, he swiftly severed the enemy’s head, adorned with heated golden earrings. The scene underscores the grim precision of war: skill and resolve are exercised without hesitation, and the ethical weight lies in the warrior’s duty-bound action amid relentless violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma in its starkest form: disciplined skill and decisive action in battle. It also reminds the reader that even heroic prowess operates within the tragic moral atmosphere of war, where duty is fulfilled through lethal means.
Sañjaya reports that Arjuna first disables the opponent’s chariot by cutting its key structural part (īṣā/harasā). Immediately afterward, Arjuna uses a razor-edged, stone-whetted arrow to sever the opponent’s head, described as adorned with heated golden earrings.