Shloka 56
द्रोणविक्रमदर्शनम् / The Display of Droṇa’s Onslaught and the Debate on Pāṇḍava Regrouping
अशीत्या क्षत्रवर्माणं षड्विंशत्या सुदक्षिणम् । क्षत्रदेव॑ तु भल्लेन रथनीडादपातयत्,तत्पश्चात् क्षत्रवर्माको अस्सी और सुदक्षिणको छब्बीस बाणोंसे आहत करके क्षत्रदेवको भल्लसे घायलकर रथकी बैठकसे नीचे गिरा दिया
aśītyā kṣatravarmāṇaṃ ṣaḍviṃśatyā sudakṣiṇam | kṣatradevaṃ tu bhallena rathanīḍād apātayat |
Sañjaya said: With eighty arrows he struck Kṣatravarman, and with twenty-six he struck Sudakṣiṇa. Then, with a sharp bhalla-arrow, he wounded Kṣatradeva and hurled him down from the seat of his chariot. The scene underscores the relentless precision of battlefield skill, where prowess is measured in controlled force and the swift reversal of fortune that war brings upon even the valiant.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh ethic of the battlefield: measured prowess and decisive action can instantly overturn a warrior’s standing. It implicitly reflects kṣatriya-dharma in war—skill, resolve, and the acceptance that honor and life can change in a moment.
Sañjaya reports a combat episode in which a warrior strikes Kṣatravarman with eighty arrows, Sudakṣiṇa with twenty-six, and then uses a bhalla-arrow to wound Kṣatradeva and knock him down from the chariot-seat.