Shloka 44
Śalya–Yudhiṣṭhira Duel and the Discharge of the Śakti (शल्यवधप्रसङ्गः)
उसके मूर्च्छित हो जानेपर भीमसेनने फिर क्षुरप्रके द्वारा उसके सारथिका ही सिर धड़से अलग कर दिया ।।
hatāsūtā hayās tasya ratham ādāya bhārata | vyadravan diśo rājan hāhākāras tadābhavat ||
Ketika saisnya terbunuh, kuda-kuda yang masih terpasang pada kereta itu mendadak liar dan berlari ke segala penjuru, wahai keturunan Bharata. Pada saat itu, wahai Raja, terdengarlah jerit kegemparan dan kekacauan besar di dalam pasukanmu.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the interdependence of roles in dharmic warfare: when a crucial support figure (the charioteer) falls, control collapses and panic spreads. It points to the ethical and practical reality that violence produces cascading disorder, affecting not only combatants but the entire fighting body.
Sañjaya reports that after the charioteer is killed, the horses—still attached to the chariot—run wildly in all directions. This triggers a loud uproar and confusion in Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s forces.