Shloka 86
Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)
चतुर्भिनिजघानाश्चान् पत्रिभि: कृतवर्मण: । विव्याध गौतमं चापि षड्भिर्भल्लै: सुतेजनै:
caturbhir nijaghānāśvān patribhiḥ kṛtavarmaṇaḥ | vivyādha gautamaṃ cāpi ṣaḍbhir bhallaiḥ sutejanaiḥ ||
Sañjaya dijo: El rey Yudhiṣṭhira abatió con cuatro flechas los cuatro caballos de Kṛtavarman; y con seis dardos bhalla, agudos y cortantes, hirió también a Gautama (Kṛpa). La escena subraya la sombría ética de la necesidad en el campo de batalla, donde incluso un rey mesurado se ve llevado a una violencia decisiva para contener a adversarios formidables.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between personal restraint and kṣatriya-duty: even a dharma-minded king like Yudhiṣṭhira must act swiftly and decisively in war to neutralize threats, illustrating how dharma in battle often operates under harsh necessity rather than ideal gentleness.
In the ongoing battle, Yudhiṣṭhira targets Kṛtavarman’s mobility by killing his four horses with four arrows, then turns to Kṛpa (called Gautama) and wounds him with six sharp bhalla arrows, marking a forceful counterattack against prominent Kaurava warriors.