Shloka 6
भूरिश्रवसः गर्हा, प्रायोपवेशः, सात्यकिकृतशिरच्छेदः
Bhūriśravas’s Censure, Prāyopaveśa, and Sātyaki’s Beheading
सर्वतः प्रतिविद्धस्तु तव पुत्रैर्महारथै: । तान् प्रत्यविध्यद् वार्ष्णेय: पृथक् पृथगजिद्दागैः,आपके महारथी पुत्रोंद्वारा सब ओरसे घायल किये जानेपर वृष्णिवंशी वीर सात्यकिने उन सबको पृथक्-पृथक् अपने बाणोंसे बींधकर बदला चुकाया
sarvataḥ pratividdhas tu tava putrair mahārathaiḥ | tān pratyavidhyad vārṣṇeyaḥ pṛthak pṛthag ajid-dāgaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Though struck from every side by your sons, the great chariot-warriors, the Vṛṣṇi hero Sātyaki repaid them in kind—piercing each of them separately with his swift, unfailing arrows. The scene underscores the grim reciprocity of battle: injury answered by measured retaliation, prowess serving loyalty amid the relentless ethics of kṣatriya warfare.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya code in wartime: endurance under attack and proportionate, skillful response. It frames retaliation not as personal spite but as battlefield duty—maintaining resolve and protecting one’s side through disciplined martial action.
Sātyaki, surrounded and wounded by Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s warrior sons, counters effectively. He targets them individually and pierces each with his arrows, demonstrating superior control and turning the tide of the immediate exchange.