Shloka 21
Irāvān-nidhana-anantaraṃ Ghaṭotkaca-nādaḥ
After Irāvān’s fall: Ghaṭotkaca’s roar and the clash with Duryodhana
संनिवार्य शरांस्तांस्तु कृप: शारद्वतो युधि । चेकितानं रणे यत्तं राजन् विव्याध पत्रिभि:,राजन! शरद्वानके पुत्र कृपाचार्यने युद्धमें उन सब बाणोंको काटकर सावधानीके साथ युद्ध करनेवाले चेकितानको पंखवाले बाणोंसे बींध डाला
saṃnivārya śarāṃs tāṃs tu kṛpaḥ śāradvato yudhi | cekitānaṃ raṇe yattaṃ rājan vivyādha patribhiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Having checked and cut down those arrows in the thick of battle, Kṛpa—son of Śaradvat—then, O King, pierced Cekitāna, who was fighting with vigilant resolve, with feathered shafts. The scene underscores the harsh discipline of war: skill and composure become decisive, even as valor meets its peril.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the warrior ethic in the Mahābhārata: in war, disciplined skill—parrying and counterattacking without losing composure—determines outcomes. It also implicitly reflects the tragic moral tension of kṣatriya-dharma, where valor and duty operate within a violent arena.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Kṛpa, after neutralizing incoming arrows, strikes Cekitāna in the battle with fletched arrows. It is a brief combat vignette emphasizing Kṛpa’s defensive mastery followed by a decisive offensive hit.