Shloka 36
Arjuna’s Concentrated Archery and the Rout of the Kaurava Mahārathas
Gāṇḍīva-Nirghoṣa Episode
अथास्य युगमेकेन चतुर्भिश्चतुरों हयान् । षष्ठेन च शिर: कायाच्छरेण रथसारथे:,एक बाणसे उनके रथका जूआ काटकर चार बाणोंसे चारों घोड़े मार डाले और छठे बाणसे रथके सारथिका सिर धड़से अलग कर दिया
athāsya yugam ekena caturbhiś caturaḥ hayān | ṣaṣṭhena ca śiraḥ kāyāc chareṇa rathasāratheḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Then, with a single arrow he severed the yoke of that chariot; with four more arrows he struck down the four horses; and with a sixth arrow he cut off the charioteer’s head from his body.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, strategic disabling of an enemy’s mobility and command (yoke, horses, charioteer) can decide the encounter. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension: martial duty and skill are praised, yet the grim cost of violence is made explicit.
A warrior (implied by context) rapidly neutralizes an opponent’s chariot: first cutting the yoke with one arrow, then killing the four horses with four arrows, and finally severing the charioteer’s head with a sixth arrow—rendering the chariot helpless.