Shloka 4
Jayadrathasya varaprāptiḥ (जयद्रथस्य वरप्राप्तिः) — Jayadratha’s boon and the restraint of the Pāṇḍava advance
तस्याभिमन्युरायम्य स्मयन्नेकेन पत्रिणा । शिर: प्रच्यावयामास तद्रथात् प्रापतद् भुवि
tasyābhimanyur āyamya smayann ekena patriṇā | śiraḥ pracyāvayāmāsa tad-rathāt prāpatad bhuvi ||
Lalu Abhimanyu menarik busurnya, tersenyum, dan dengan satu anak panah berbulu mengguncang hingga melepaskan kepala lawannya; kepala itu jatuh dari kereta dansanya dan menghantam bumi.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the paradox of dharmic warfare: a warrior may act with calm confidence and consummate skill, yet the outcome is starkly violent. It invites reflection on how duty (kṣatriya-dharma) operates within the moral weight of causing death.
Sañjaya reports that Abhimanyu draws his bow and, with a single feathered arrow, strikes in such a way that the enemy’s head is dislodged and falls from the chariot to the ground—an emphatic depiction of Abhimanyu’s prowess in the Drona Parva battle sequence.