Shloka 35
Somadatta–Sātyaki Engagement; Bhīma’s Interventions; Droṇa–Yudhiṣṭhira Astra Exchange
Book 7, Chapter 132
तथोत्तमौजा: संक्रुद्धः शरैहेमविभूषितै: । अविध्यत् सारथिं चास्य प्राहिणोद्ू यमसादनम्,इसी प्रकार उत्तमौजाने भी अत्यन्त कुपित हो अपने सुवर्णभूषित बाणोंद्वारा उसके सारथिको गहरी चोट पहुँचायी और उसे यमलोक भेज दिया
tathottamaujāḥ saṅkruddhaḥ śaraiḥ hemavibhūṣitaiḥ | avidhyat sārathiṃ cāsya prāhiṇod yamasādanam ||
Then Uttamaujā, inflamed with anger, struck down his charioteer with arrows adorned with gold, and sent him to the abode of Yama. In the brutal momentum of battle, the fall of the driver signifies not only a tactical blow—disabling the chariot—but also the grim ethical tension of war, where rage and necessity can eclipse restraint and compassion.
द्रोण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger (krodha) intensifies violence and accelerates moral decline in war. It also underscores the ethical ambiguity of battlefield conduct: tactical necessity (disabling an enemy chariot by killing the driver) can conflict with ideals of restraint and compassion, revealing the strain placed on dharma amid chaos.
Uttamaujā, furious in combat, shoots the opponent’s charioteer with gold-ornamented arrows, killing him—described as sending him to Yama’s abode. The immediate narrative effect is the removal of the driver, a decisive tactical strike that can immobilize or destabilize the enemy’s chariot.