Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 273
शल्यस्य पाण्डवसेनापीडनम् — Śalya’s Assault on the Pāṇḍava Host
with Omens and Bhīma’s Counter
जघान निशितैर्बाणै: सत्यसेनस्यथ वाजिन: । तब नकुलने हँसकर रणभूमिमें चार पैने बाणोंद्वारा सत्यसेनके चारों घोड़ोंको मार डाला
jaghāna niśitair bāṇaiḥ satyasenasya atha vājinaḥ | tataḥ nakulena haṃsakar raṇabhūmau caturbhiḥ paiṇaiḥ bāṇaiḥ satyasenasya catvāro 'śvāḥ hatāḥ ||
Sañjaya dijo: Con flechas agudas abatió los caballos de Satyasena. Luego Nakula, sonriendo con seguridad en medio del fragor de las armas, derribó en el campo de batalla a los cuatro corceles de Satyasena con cuatro saetas aceradas—un golpe que inutiliza la movilidad y el poder del carro enemigo sin buscar de inmediato la vida del guerrero, conforme a la táctica y al decoro de la guerra de carros.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a tactical dimension of dharma-yuddha: disabling an enemy’s chariot by killing the horses can be a strategic choice that shifts the fight’s balance without immediately aiming at the warrior’s death, illustrating how battlefield ethics and practical necessity intertwine in epic warfare.
Sañjaya reports that Nakula, using four sharp arrows, kills the four horses of Satyasena’s chariot on the battlefield, thereby immobilizing or weakening Satyasena’s combat position.
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