Shloka 24
Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)
ततो<5परेण ज्वलनार्कतेजसा क्षुरेण राज्ञो धनुरुन्ममाथ । कृपश्च तस्यैव जघान सूतं षड्भि: शरै: सोडभिमुख: पपात
tato 'pareṇa jvalanārkatejasā kṣureṇa rājño dhanur unmamātha | kṛpaś ca tasyaiva jaghāna sūtaṃ ṣaḍbhiḥ śaraiḥ so 'bhimukhaḥ papāta ||
Luego, con una flecha de filo de navaja, ardiente como el fuego y el sol, hizo añicos el arco del rey Yudhiṣṭhira. Y Kṛpa también abatió al auriga de ese mismo rey con seis saetas; el conductor cayó a tierra justo ante él. La escena subraya la mecánica implacable de la batalla: inutilizar a un guerrero quebrando su arma y arrebatándole su apoyo, aun cuando el blanco no sea el combatiente principal.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war often targets a warrior’s capacity to fight—weapon and support system—rather than only the warrior himself. Ethically, it raises the tension between battlefield expediency and the ideal of righteous combat, showing how quickly dignity and security collapse amid violence.
In Sañjaya’s report, an opponent uses a blazing, razor-like arrow to break King Yudhiṣṭhira’s bow. Immediately after, Kṛpācārya shoots Yudhiṣṭhira’s charioteer with six arrows, and the charioteer falls in front of the king, leaving him suddenly disadvantaged.