Shloka 5
दुःशासनस्ततकश्चापं छित्त्वा राजन् महाहवे । सहदेवं त्रिसप्तत्या बाह्वोरुरसि चार्पयत्,राजन्! उस महासमरमें दुःशासनने सहदेवका धनुष काटकर उनकी दोनों भुजाओं और छातीमें तिहत्तर बाण मारे
sañjaya uvāca | duḥśāsanas tatakaś cāpaṃ chittvā rājan mahāhave | sahadevaṃ trisaptatyā bāhvor urasi cārpayat ||
Sanjaya said: O King, in that great battle Duḥśāsana cut down Sahadeva’s bow and then drove seventy-three arrows into Sahadeva—striking his arms and his chest. The episode underscores how, in the fury of war, warriors seek to disable an opponent’s capacity to fight (by breaking the bow) before inflicting further wounds, revealing both the tactical ruthlessness and the escalating violence of the Kurukṣetra conflict.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh logic of battlefield conduct: disabling an opponent’s weapon first and then pressing the advantage. Ethically, it reflects how war intensifies aggression and suffering, serving as a reminder of the destructive momentum that adharma-driven conflict can unleash.
Sanjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Duḥśāsana, in the thick of the great fight, cuts Sahadeva’s bow and then wounds him by planting seventy-three arrows into his arms and chest.