Shloka 226
Śalya Appointed as Karṇa’s Sārathi; Discourse on Praise, Blame, and Beneficial Counsel (कर्णस्य शल्यसारथ्यं तथा स्तवनिन्दाविचारः)
पज्चभिरन्निशितैर्भल्लैर्जत्रदेशे समाहनत् । हृदिकवंशी यादवोंके महारथी वीर कृतवर्माको सामने पाकर शिखण्डीने उसके गलेकी हँसलीपर पाँच तीखे भललोंद्वारा प्रहार किया
pañcabhir aniśitair bhallair jatradeśe samāhanat | hṛdikavaṃśī yādavānāṃ mahārathī vīraḥ kṛtavarmāṇaṃ samane prāpya śikhaṇḍī tasya galasya haṃsalīṣu pañcabhiḥ tīkṣṇair bhallaiḥ prahāram akarot ||
Sanjaya said: Confronting the heroic Kṛtavarmā—an eminent Yādava chariot-warrior—Śikhaṇḍī struck him in the region of the collarbone with five razor-sharp bhalla arrows. The episode underscores the relentless, close-quarters ferocity of the battle, where prowess and tactical opportunity, rather than restraint, govern the moment.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield ethic where a kṣatriya’s role is to act decisively in combat; moral reflection here is implicit—war compresses choices into moments of tactical necessity, revealing how duty and violence intertwine in epic warfare.
Śikhaṇḍī meets Kṛtavarmā face-to-face and wounds him by striking the collarbone/neck-joint area with five sharp bhalla arrows, as reported by Sañjaya.