Shloka 9
यौधिष्ठिरिर्ध्वजं तस्य छित्त्वा भूमावपातयत् । नाकुलिश्लाथ यन्तारं रथनीडादपाहरत्,तदनन्तर युधिष्छिरकुमार प्रतिविन्ध्यने शलकी ध्वजा काटकर पृथ्वीपर गिरा दी। फिर नकुलपुत्र शतानीकने उनके सारथिको मारकर रथकी बैठकसे नीचे गिरा दिया
sañjaya uvāca | yaudhiṣṭhirir dhvajaṃ tasya chittvā bhūmāv apātayat | nākuliḥ ślātha-yantāraṃ ratha-nīḍād apāharat |
Sañjaya said: Yudhiṣṭhira’s son cut down his opponent’s banner and made it fall to the ground. Then Nakula’s son struck down the charioteer and dragged him from the chariot-seat. In the grim ethics of battle, the fall of the standard signals a warrior’s humiliation and shaken morale, while the killing of the driver shows how the fight turns to disabling the enemy’s capacity to continue—an escalation that reflects the ruthless momentum of the Kurukṣetra war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, symbolic acts (cutting a banner) and tactical acts (removing a charioteer) both shape outcomes. Ethically, it reflects the tension between kṣatriya duty to fight effectively and the war’s tendency to erode restraint, as victory becomes tied to disabling the enemy by any means.
Sañjaya reports two swift battlefield actions: Prativindhya (Yudhiṣṭhira’s son) cuts down an opponent’s standard, and Śatānīka (Nakula’s son) kills or disables the charioteer and pulls him from the chariot-seat, thereby crippling the enemy’s mobility and combat effectiveness.