Shloka 30
अध्याय ९९ — युयुधान-दुःशासन-युद्धम्
Chapter 99: Sātyaki and Duḥśāsana’s engagement
हयांश्वैव चतुःषष्ट्या शराणां जध्निवान् बली | ध्वजं क्षत्रं च भल्लाभ्यां तथा तौ पार्ष्णिसारथी
hayāṁś caiva catuḥṣaṣṭyā śarāṇāṁ jadhnivān balī | dhvajaṁ kṣatraṁ ca bhallābhyāṁ tathā tau pārṣṇisārathī ||
Sañjaya dit : Le puissant guerrier abattit les chevaux de soixante-quatre flèches ; et, de deux traits à large pointe, il trancha aussi l’étendard et l’armure protectrice. Ainsi ce cocher, inébranlable au combat, brisa la force de l’ennemi et ses symboles d’honneur au cœur de la fureur guerrière.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ideal of resolute, disciplined prowess in battle: not merely harming opponents, but strategically disabling mobility (horses) and undermining morale and identity (banner) and protection (armor). Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension—skill and duty in war coexist with the grave cost of violence.
Sañjaya reports a combat episode in which a powerful warrior shoots a precise volley of sixty-four arrows to bring down the chariot’s horses, then uses two bhalla arrows to cut down the enemy’s banner and armor, signaling a decisive tactical and symbolic blow.