Shloka 39
Rajo-dhūli-saṃmūḍha-saṅgrāmaḥ
The Dust-Obscured Battle and Mutual Charges
अथ शल्यो गदापाणिरवतीर्य महारथात् | शड्ुखस्य चतुरो वाहानहनद् भरतर्षभ,भरतश्रेष्ठ! उस समय राजा शल्यने हाथमें गदा लिये अपने विशाल रथसे उतरकर शंखके चारों घोड़ोंको मार डाला
atha śalyo gadāpāṇir avatīrya mahārathāt | śaṅkhasya caturo vāhān ahanad bharatarṣabha ||
Sañjaya said: Then King Śalya, grasping a mace in his hand, descended from his great chariot and struck down the four horses of Śaṅkha. In the brutal ethics of battlefield conduct, this act shows the tactical aim of disabling an opponent by destroying his mobility, intensifying the violence of the encounter and the vulnerability of the warrior left without his team.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a harsh dimension of kṣatriya warfare: victory is pursued through tactical disabling of the enemy, even by targeting the chariot’s horses. It invites reflection on how dharma in war can become entangled with expediency, and how battlefield choices escalate suffering beyond the duel between warriors.
Sañjaya reports that Śalya gets down from his chariot with a mace and kills the four horses of the warrior Śaṅkha’s chariot, effectively immobilizing him and shifting the fight’s balance.