Shloka 27
Śalya Appointed as Karṇa’s Sārathi; Discourse on Praise, Blame, and Beneficial Counsel (कर्णस्य शल्यसारथ्यं तथा स्तवनिन्दाविचारः)
क्षुरप्रेण सुतीक्ष्णेन कार्मुक॑ चिच्छिदे भृूशम् । उन्हें व्यर्थ होकर पृथ्वीपर गिरा देख शिखण्डीने तीखे श्षुरप्रसे कृतवर्माके धनुषके टुकड़े-टुकड़े कर डाले ।। अथीैनं छिन्नधन्वानं भग्नशुड्भमिवर्षभम्
kṣurapreṇa sutīkṣṇena kārmukaṃ cicchide bhṛśam | athainaṃ chinnadhanvānaṃ bhagnaśṛṅgam ivarṣabham ||
Dijo Sañjaya: Con una flecha de filo de navaja, agudísima, cortó violentamente el arco. Luego, al verlo con el arco cercenado—como un toro con el cuerno roto—apremió el ataque. La escena subraya la implacable eficacia de la destreza en el campo de batalla: inutilizar el arma del adversario se vuelve un acto decisivo y cargado de ética; la victoria se persigue mediante el dominio táctico más que por mera ira, aunque todo se despliega dentro de la dura economía moral de la guerra.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, decisive outcomes often come from disabling an opponent’s means of fighting rather than only seeking direct killing; it reflects the grim discipline of kṣatriya warfare where skill and tactical restraint can be as determinative as brute force, even while the overall violence remains morally weighty.
A warrior uses a razor-headed arrow to cut the opponent’s bow, leaving him effectively disarmed; the disarmed fighter is compared to a bull with a broken horn, emphasizing sudden loss of power and vulnerability in the ongoing battle.