Shloka 4
भूरिश्रवसः गर्हा, प्रायोपवेशः, सात्यकिकृतशिरच्छेदः
Bhūriśravas’s Censure, Prāyopaveśa, and Sātyaki’s Beheading
दुर्मुखो दशभिर्बाणैस्तथा दुःशासनोडष्टभि: । चित्रसेनश्न शैनेयं द्वाभ्यां विव्याध मारिष,आर्य! तदनन्तर दुर्मुखने दस, दुःशासनने आठ और चित्रसेनने दो बाणोंसे सात्यकिको घायल कर दिया
sañjaya uvāca | durmukho daśabhir bāṇais tathā duḥśāsano 'ṣṭabhiḥ | citrasenaś ca śaineyaṃ dvābhyāṃ vivyādha māriṣa ||
Sañjaya said: Durmukha struck Śaineya (Sātyaki) with ten arrows; Duḥśāsana likewise with eight; and Citrasena pierced him with two. Thus, in the press of battle, the Kaurava warriors concentrated their missiles upon Sātyaki, seeking to check his advance by sheer force rather than by restraint or counsel.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield reality that collective aggression can be used to restrain a powerful warrior; ethically, it underscores how war often replaces dialogue and restraint with coordinated violence, testing the limits of kṣatriya duty and self-control.
Sañjaya reports that three Kaurava fighters—Durmukha, Duḥśāsana, and Citrasena—shoot Sātyaki (Śaineya) with a total of twenty arrows (10+8+2), wounding him as part of an effort to halt or weaken him in the ongoing battle.