Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 27
Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)
तथापरेणास्य जहार यन्तुः कायाच्छिर: संहननीयमध्यात् । जघान चाश्चां श्वतुरः सुशीघ्र॑ तथा भृशं कुपितो भीमसेन:
tathāpareṇāsya jahāra yantuḥ kāyāc chiraḥ saṃhananīyamadhyāt | jaghāna cāśvāṃ śvaturaḥ suśīghraṃ tathā bhṛśaṃ kupito bhīmasenaḥ ||
Dijo Sañjaya: Entonces, con otro golpe, el auriga le cercenó la cabeza del cuerpo a la altura del cuello. Y Bhīmasena, encendido de ira, abatió también con rapidez a los cuatro caballos. La escena subraya el impulso implacable de la guerra: la cólera empuja a una violencia rápida y decisiva, en la que incluso los elementos de apoyo —conductor y corceles— son segados para inutilizar por completo al enemigo.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger (krodha) accelerates destructive action in war, and how combat often targets not only the main warrior but also the chariot-system—driver and horses—to render the opponent helpless. Ethically, it reflects the grim reality of battlefield duty where tactical disabling can override compassion.
Sañjaya reports that a charioteer severs a man’s head at the neck with another blow, and then Bhīmasena—furiously enraged—swiftly kills the four horses, effectively crippling the enemy’s chariot and mobility.