Shloka 386
आकर्णपूर्णनिशितैर्विव्याध त्रिंशता शरै: । राजन! तब हँसते हुए आपके पुत्रने धनुषको कानतक खींचकर छोड़े हुए तीस तीखे बाणोंद्वारा रणभूमिमें सात्यकिको क्षत-विक्षत कर डाला
sañjaya uvāca | ākarṇapūrṇa-niśitair vivyādha triṃśatā śaraiḥ | rājan! tadā hasate hue tava putreṇa dhanuṣaṃ karṇāntaṃ kṛtvā muktaiḥ triṃśadbhis tīkṣṇaiḥ śaraiḥ raṇabhūmau sātyakiḥ kṣata-vikṣataḥ kṛtaḥ |
Sanjaya said: O King, then your son, smiling, drew his bow back to the ear and released thirty razor-sharp arrows. With those arrows he tore Satyaki on the battlefield, wounding and mangling him—an image of how, in war, skill and ferocity can eclipse compassion and turn prowess into ruthless harm.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim ethical tension of warfare: martial excellence (drawing the bow to the ear and striking precisely) can be accompanied by emotional detachment or even delight, reminding readers that power without restraint easily becomes cruelty, even within the framework of kshatriya duty.
Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that Duryodhana, smiling, fully draws his bow and shoots thirty sharp arrows, severely wounding Satyaki on the battlefield.