Shloka 303
जवेनाभ्यपतन् हृष्टा घ्नन्तो दौर्योधनं बलम् । दूसरी ओर पराक्रमी अर्जुनने रथसेनापर आक्रमण किया। माद्रीकुमार नकुल-सहदेव और महारथी सात्यकि हर्षमें भरकर दुर्योधनकी सेनाका संहार करते हुए बड़े वेगसे शकुनिपर टूट पड़े
javena abhyapatan hṛṣṭā ghnantaḥ dauryodhanaṃ balam | dvitīyāṃ diśi parākramī arjunaḥ ratha-senām upari ākrāmat | mādrī-kumārau nakula-sahadevau ca mahā-rathī sātyakiś ca harṣeṇa pūritāḥ duryodhanasya senāṃ saṃharantaḥ mahā-javena śakunim upari nipetuḥ |
Sañjaya said: Rejoicing, they rushed forward with great speed, striking down the forces of Duryodhana. On another flank, the mighty Arjuna launched an assault upon the chariot-divisions. Madri’s sons, Nakula and Sahadeva, and the great chariot-warrior Sātyaki—filled with exhilaration—slaughtered Duryodhana’s troops and, with tremendous momentum, fell upon Śakuni. The scene underscores how, in the fury of war, strategic pressure shifts from the massed army to key instigators and leaders, as each side seeks to break the other’s resolve and command.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a battlefield ethic of targeting decisive nodes—leaders and instigators—rather than merely clashing with anonymous masses. It also reflects kṣatriya-dharma in its stark form: disciplined courage, coordinated assault, and the pursuit of strategic objectives amid the moral gravity of large-scale destruction.
Sañjaya reports that the Pāṇḍava side surges forward: Arjuna attacks the chariot formations, while Nakula, Sahadeva, and Sātyaki—exultant and forceful—cut through Duryodhana’s troops and then rush to engage Śakuni directly.