Shloka 41
भूरिश्रवसः गर्हा, प्रायोपवेशः, सात्यकिकृतशिरच्छेदः
Bhūriśravas’s Censure, Prāyopaveśa, and Sātyaki’s Beheading
संजातरुधिरश्नाजौ सात्वतेषुभिररदित: । सशरं धनुरुत्सृज्य न्यपतत् स्यन्दनोत्तमात्,युद्धसस््थलमें सात्यकिके बाणोंसे पीड़ित हो कृतवर्मा खूनकी धारा बहाता हुआ धनुष- बाण छोड़कर उस उत्तम रथसे उसके पिछले भागमें गिर पड़ा
sañjāta-rudhira-snāyau sātvateṣubhir arditaḥ | saśaraṃ dhanur utsṛjya nyapatat syandanottamāt ||
Sañjaya said: Struck hard by the Sātvata warriors, Kṛtavarmā—his body drenched in flowing blood—let go of his bow along with the arrows and collapsed from his excellent chariot, falling toward its rear. The verse underscores the brutal immediacy of battle: prowess and status offer no immunity when violence escalates beyond control, and the warrior’s body becomes the stark measure of the war’s moral cost.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the human fragility beneath martial identity: even renowned warriors can be suddenly reduced by injury. Ethically, it points to the heavy cost of war—where victory is purchased through suffering—and invites reflection on how dharma in battle (kṣatriya-duty) coexists with the tragedy of violence.
Sañjaya reports that Kṛtavarmā, overwhelmed and wounded by the attacks of the Sātvata fighters (associated with Sātyaki), drops his bow and arrows and collapses from his chariot, falling toward its rear.