Mahabharata 7.118.386 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 118, Shloka 386
भूरिश्रवसः गर्हा, प्रायोपवेशः, सात्यकिकृतशिरच्छेदः
Bhūriśravas’s Censure, Prāyopaveśa, and Sātyaki’s Beheading
व्यसृजत् तं॑ महाज्वालं संक्ुद्धमिव पन्नगम् । अब सात्यकिने अपने धनुषपर सुवर्णमय पंखवाले अत्यन्त तेजस्वी बाणका संधान किया
sañjaya uvāca | vyasṛjat taṁ mahājvālaṁ saṁkruddham iva pannagam |
Sañjaya dit : Il décocha cette flèche embrasée d’une grande flamme, pareille à un serpent enfiévré de colère. Ayant ajusté sur son arc un trait d’un éclat souverain, aux plumes d’or, Sātyaki le lança sur Kṛtavarmā—attisant la tension morale du combat, où la fureur et la prouesse poussent les guerriers vers des représailles toujours plus meurtrières.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger (krodha) can shape perception and action in war: the weapon is imagined as a wrathful serpent, suggesting that unchecked fury turns human agency into something venomous and destructive, deepening the ethical burden of violence even when performed by renowned warriors.
Sañjaya describes Sātyaki fitting and releasing a fiercely blazing arrow—likened to an enraged serpent—and directing it at Kṛtavarmā, marking an escalation in their combat and the ferocity of the battlefield exchange.
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