Shloka 39
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 33 — Kuru Cattle-Raid and Matsya Mobilization (भूमिंजय-प्रेरणा)
समासाद्य सुशर्माणमश्चानस्य व्यपोथयत् । पृष्ठगोपांश्व॒ तस्याथ हत्वा परमसायकै:
samāsādya suśarmāṇam aśvān asya vyapothayat | pṛṣṭhagopāṁś ca tasyātha hatvā paramasāyakaiḥ ||
Closing in upon King Suśarmā, he struck down his horses; then, with supreme arrows, he also slew Suśarmā’s rear-guard cattle-protectors. Thus is a warrior’s duty shown: to cut off an aggressor’s flight and support, and to end decisively the peril that threatens the vulnerable—the cattle and their guards—amid the clash of arms.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma in action: in a just battle, one may disable the enemy’s mobility and support forces to protect the vulnerable (here, the cattle and their defenders) and to end aggression decisively.
The narrator describes a warrior closing in on Suśarmā, striking down his horses, and then killing Suśarmā’s rear-guard cattle-protectors with powerful arrows—an escalation that breaks the enemy’s ability to resist and safeguard the seized cattle.