Shloka 44
Śalya–Yudhiṣṭhira Duel and the Discharge of the Śakti (शल्यवधप्रसङ्गः)
उसके मूर्च्छित हो जानेपर भीमसेनने फिर क्षुरप्रके द्वारा उसके सारथिका ही सिर धड़से अलग कर दिया ।। हतसूता हयास्तस्य रथमादाय भारत । व्यद्रवन्त दिशो राजन् हाहाकारस्तदाभवत्,भरतवंशी नरेश! सारथिके मारे जानेपर उसके घोड़े रथ लिये चारों दिशाओंमें दौड़ लगाने लगे। उस समय आपकी सेनामें हाहाकार मच गया
hatāsūtā hayās tasya ratham ādāya bhārata | vyadravan diśo rājan hāhākāras tadābhavat ||
Sañjaya said: When his charioteer had been slain, his horses—still yoked to the chariot—bolted in all directions, O descendant of Bharata. At that moment, O King, a great cry of alarm and confusion arose in your army. The verse underscores how, in war, the fall of a single key support—like a charioteer—can instantly turn order into chaos, exposing the fragility of martial control and the cascading consequences of violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the interdependence of roles in dharmic warfare: when a crucial support figure (the charioteer) falls, control collapses and panic spreads. It points to the ethical and practical reality that violence produces cascading disorder, affecting not only combatants but the entire fighting body.
Sañjaya reports that after the charioteer is killed, the horses—still attached to the chariot—run wildly in all directions. This triggers a loud uproar and confusion in Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s forces.