Shloka 62
जहार सद्यो भल्लेन विपाटस्य शिरो रथात् | तत्पश्चात् सीधे जानेवाले छः सायकोंद्वारा शत्रुंजयका संहार करके एक भल्लद्वारा रथपर बैठे हुए विपाटका मस्तक तत्काल काट गिराया ।। ६१ ई || पश्यतां धार्तराष्ट्राणामेकेनैव किरीटिना
sañjaya uvāca | jahāra sadyo bhallena vipāṭasya śiro rathāt | tatpaścāt ṣaḍbhiḥ sāyakair jānēvāle śatruñjayaṃ saṃhṛtyaikenaiva kirīṭinā (bhallena) rathopaviṣṭasya vipāṭasya mastakaṃ tatkṣaṇaṃ chittvā nipātayāmāsa | paśyatāṃ dhārtarāṣṭrāṇām |
Sañjaya said: With a sharp bhalla-arrow he at once struck off Vipāṭa’s head from his chariot. Thereafter, having slain Śatruñjaya with six arrows, the crowned warrior (Arjuna) severed with a single bhalla the head of Vipāṭa as he sat upon his car—while the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra looked on. The passage underscores the grim swiftness of kṣatriya warfare: prowess and resolve are displayed publicly, yet the ethical weight of violence remains inescapable amid the duties of battle.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh reality of kṣatriya duty in war: skill and decisiveness are praised, yet the scene—executed before witnesses—also reminds the listener that battlefield glory is inseparable from grave moral cost and the inexorable consequences of violence.
Sañjaya reports that the diademed warrior Arjuna kills Śatruñjaya with six arrows and then, using a bhalla-arrow, swiftly severs Vipāṭa’s head from his chariot, all in the sight of the Kaurava forces (Dhārtarāṣṭras).