Shloka 49
भीष्म-युधिष्ठिर-संमर्दः
Bhīṣma’s Pressure on Yudhiṣṭhira; Śikhaṇḍī’s Approach; Evening Withdrawal
ततोअस्य धनुरेकेन द्वाभ्यां सूतं॑ च मारिष । चिच्छेद समरे तूर्ण तं च विव्याध सप्तभि:,आर्य! तदनन्तर एक बाणसे उसके धनुषको काट दिया, दोसे उसके सारथिको क्षत- विक्षत कर दिया और सात बाणोंसे उस युद्धस्थलमें स्वयं दुष्कर्णको भी तुरंत घायल कर दिया
tato 'sya dhanur ekena dvābhyāṃ sūtaṃ ca māriṣa | ciccheda samare tūrṇaṃ taṃ ca vivyādha saptabhiḥ ||
Sañjaya dijo: Entonces, en medio de la batalla, actuó con rapidez: con una sola flecha cortó su arco; con otras dos hirió y destrozó a su auriga; y después atravesó al propio Duṣkarṇa con siete flechas. El episodio subraya la precisión implacable de la guerra kṣatriya, donde inutilizar los medios de combate del adversario—arma, conductor y, por último, el guerrero—se vuelve una estrategia lúgubre y metódica dentro de los códigos aceptados del combate.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh discipline of kṣatriya-dharma in war: combat is fought with speed and skill, often by first disabling the opponent’s capacity to fight (weapon and chariot-team) before directly engaging the warrior—an ethically fraught but culturally recognized battlefield method.
Sañjaya reports a rapid sequence of archery feats: the attacker severs the opponent’s bow with one arrow, strikes the charioteer with two arrows, and then wounds Duṣkarṇa with seven arrows, turning the tide of that immediate exchange.