Shloka 523

Devanagari script

क्षुरेणास्य तृतीयेन शिरश्रिच्छेद सात्यकि: । तदनन्तर सात्यकिने तीसरे छुरेसे उसके सुन्दर दाँतोंवाले मनोहर कुण्डलमण्डित विशाल मस्तकको काट गिराया

Transliteration

kṣureṇāsya tṛtīyena śiraś ciccheda sātyakiḥ |

Translation

Sañjaya said: With his third razor-edged arrow, Sātyaki severed his opponent’s head. In the grim momentum of battle, the act underscores the Mahābhārata’s stark ethic of kṣatriya warfare—decisive, lethal skill employed to neutralize a threat—while also highlighting the tragic cost of violence even when performed as duty.

Word by Word

• क्षुरेण: with a razor/sword
• क्षुरेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षुर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• अस्य: of him
• अस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• तृतीयेन: with the third (one)
• तृतीयेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तृतीय
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• शिरः: head
• शिरः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• चिच्छेद: cut off
• Type: Verb
• Root: छिद्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• सात्यकिः: Sātyaki
• सात्यकिः: Karta
• Type: Noun (Proper)
• Root: सात्यकि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Sātyaki (Yuyudhāna)
• razor-edged arrow/weapon (kṣura)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse reflects the Mahābhārata’s tension between duty and destruction: in war, a kṣatriya may be bound to act with decisive force, yet the narrative continually reminds the listener that such victories are inseparable from suffering and moral weight.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Sātyaki, using a third razor-like missile, cuts off his opponent’s head—an emphatic description of a lethal strike within the ongoing battle of the Droṇa Parva.