Shloka 122
स तु गाण्डीवनिर्मुक्त: शर: श्येन इवाशुग: । छित्त्वा शिर: सिन्धुपतेरुत्पपात विहायसम्,गाण्डीव धनुषसे छूटा हुआ वह शीघ्रगामी बाण सिंधुराजका सिर काटकर बाजपक्षीके समान उसे आकाशमें ले उड़ा
sa tu gāṇḍīva-nirmuktaḥ śaraḥ śyena ivāśugaḥ | chittvā śiraḥ sindhupater utpapāta vihāyasam ||
Sañjaya said: The arrow released from Gāṇḍīva, swift as a hawk in flight, severed the head of the lord of Sindhu and then sprang up into the sky, bearing it away. The moment underscores the grim certainty of consequences in war: prowess and resolve, once set in motion, culminate in irreversible results, and the battlefield’s justice is executed through skill and fate rather than mercy.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the inexorable nature of action and consequence in the dharmic framework of war: once a decisive act is undertaken with full force and intent, its outcome becomes irreversible, reflecting both human agency (skill, resolve) and the larger moral-causal order governing the battlefield.
Sañjaya describes a swift arrow shot from Arjuna’s bow Gāṇḍīva. It cuts off the head of the Sindhu king (Jayadratha) and then rises into the sky carrying it away, likened to a hawk’s rapid flight.