Shloka 5
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 95 — Sātyaki’s Breakthrough and the Routing of Allied Contingents
तेषामापततां तूर्ण गाण्डीवप्रेषितै: शरै: । शिरांसि पातयामास बाहूंश्वापि धनंजय:,उन आक्रमण करनेवाले योद्धाओंके मस्तकों और भुजाओंको अर्जुनने गाण्डीव- धनुषद्वारा छोड़े हुए बाणोंसे तुरंत ही काट गिराया
teṣām āpatatāṁ tūrṇaṁ gāṇḍīvapreṣitaiḥ śaraiḥ | śirāṁsi pātayāmāsa bāhūṁś cāpi dhanañjayaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: As those warriors rushed in, Arjuna (Dhanañjaya), with arrows swiftly loosed from the Gāṇḍīva, at once struck down their heads and even their arms. The verse underscores the grim immediacy of battle: disciplined skill, when yoked to a chosen cause, becomes decisive—and yet it also reveals the terrible cost that war exacts in bodily ruin.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ideal of swift, disciplined action in combat: mastery of skill and resolve can decisively protect one’s side. At the same time, it implicitly confronts the ethical gravity of war—victory is achieved through severe harm, reminding readers that dharma in battle is inseparable from responsibility for consequences.
As enemy fighters charge forward, Arjuna responds immediately. Using arrows shot from his famed bow Gāṇḍīva, he strikes them down, severing heads and arms—an image of overwhelming martial superiority reported by Sañjaya.