Shloka 71
तदनन्तर शत्रुओंको संताप देनेवाले अश्वत्थामाने सुन्दर पंख एवं झुकी हुई गाँठवाले दूसरे बाणसे धृष्टद्युम्नकी दोनों भौंहोंके बीचमें गहरा आघात किया ।। स पूर्वमतिविद्धश्न भशं पश्चाच्च पीडित: । ससादाथ च पाज्चाल्यो व्यपाश्रयत च ध्वजम्,पांचालराजकुमार धृष्टद्युम्न पहले ही बहुत घायल हो चुका था। फिर पीछे भी अत्यन्त पीड़ित हो वह रथकी बैठकमें धम्मसे बैठ गया और ध्वजापर अपने शरीरको टेक दिया
sañjaya uvāca |
tadanantaraṁ śatrūṇāṁ santāpa-dena āśvatthāmā sundara-pakṣaṁ jhuki-gāṇṭha-vantaṁ dvitīyena bāṇena dhṛṣṭadyumnasya ubhayor bhruvor madhye gāḍham āghātaṁ cakāra ||
sa pūrvam atividdhaḥ san bhṛśaṁ paścāc ca pīḍitaḥ |
sasāda atha ca pāñcālyaḥ vyapāśrayata ca dhvajam ||
Sanjaya said: Thereafter Aśvatthāmā—one who brought torment to his foes—struck Dhṛṣṭadyumna with a second arrow, beautifully feathered and firmly jointed, driving it deep between his eyebrows. Already pierced and badly wounded, the Pāñcāla prince was further overwhelmed by pain; he sank heavily onto the chariot-seat and leaned his body against the standard. The scene underscores how, in war, even a renowned commander can be reduced in an instant—reminding the listener of the fragility of embodied power and the relentless momentum of adharma-driven violence.
संजय उवाच