Shloka 9
Virāṭa’s Conciliation and Uttara’s Account of the Unseen Champion
Bṛhannadā/Arjuna
ध्वजं चैवास्य कौन्तेय: शरैरभ्यहनद् भृशम् । शीघ्रकृद् रथवाहांश्व॒ तथोभौ पार्ष्णिसारथी,फिर कुन्तीनन्दनने शीघ्रता करते हुए उनकी ध्वजाको भी अपने बाणोंसे छेद डाला और रथके घोड़ों, पार्श्वरक्षकों तथा सारथिको भी बहुत घायल कर दिया
dhvajaṃ caivāsya kaunteyaḥ śarair abhyahanad bhṛśam | śīghrakṛd rathavāhāṃś ca tathobhau pārṣṇisārathī ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Then the son of Kuntī, acting with swift precision, struck down his banner again and again with arrows. In the same rapid assault he grievously wounded the chariot’s horses, the flank-guards, and the charioteer.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined martial conduct: a skilled warrior may neutralize an opponent by targeting symbols (banner) and supports (horses, guards, charioteer), reducing harm through tactical disabling rather than indiscriminate slaughter—an aspect of kṣatriya-dharma and battlefield ethics in the epic.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Arjuna (Kaunteya), moving swiftly, pierces the enemy’s chariot-banner with arrows and severely wounds the chariot’s horses, the side-guards, and the charioteer, thereby crippling the opponent’s chariot unit.