Shloka 19
शल्य–युधिष्ठिरयुद्धप्रारम्भः
Commencement of the Śalya–Yudhiṣṭhira Duel
सात्यकि च शतेनाजौ सहदेवं त्रिभि: शरै: । ततस्तु सशरं चापं नकुलस्य महात्मन:,माननीय नरेश! मद्रराज शल्यने युद्धस्थलमें युधिष्ठिरको तीन, भीमसेनको पाँच, सात्यकिको सौ और सहदेवको तीन बाणोंसे घायल करके महामनस्वी नकुलके बाणसहित धनुषको क्षुरप्रसे काट डाला। शल्यके बाणोंसे कटा हुआ वह धनुष टूक-टूक होकर बिखर गया
sātyakiṃ ca śatenājau sahadevaṃ tribhiḥ śaraiḥ | tatastu saśaraṃ cāpaṃ nakulasya mahātmanaḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: Di tengah pertempuran, Śalya menghujam Sātyaki dengan seratus anak panah dan Sahadeva dengan tiga. Lalu dengan anak panah bermata tajam, ia memotong busur Nakula yang berhati luhur, beserta anak panah yang terpasang, hingga hancur berkeping-keping.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh ethic of battlefield conduct (kṣatriya-dharma): victory often comes through tactical disabling of an opponent’s capacity to fight (cutting the bow), not only through killing—showing how skill and strategy shape outcomes amid violence.
During the Kurukṣetra battle, Śalya wounds Sātyaki with a hundred arrows and Sahadeva with three, and then severs Nakula’s bow along with its arrows using a razor-edged projectile, scattering the bow into pieces.