Shloka 75
Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)
चापमेकेन चिच्छेद हार्दिक्यो नतपर्वणा । कृतवर्माने दस बाणोंसे सात्यकिको तथा तीनसे उनके घोड़ोंको घायल करके झुकी हुई गाँठवाले एक बाणसे उनके धनुषको भी काट दिया || ७४ ई || तन्निकृत्तं धनुः श्रेष्ठमपास्य शिनिपुज्गभव:
cāpam ekena ciccheda hārdikyo nataparvaṇā | kṛtavarmāṇe daśa bāṇaiḥ sātyakiṃ tathā trībhiś ca tasya hayān viddhvā jhūkī-gāṇṭhavataikena bāṇena tasya dhanuḥ api ciccheda || tanni-kṛttaṃ dhanuḥ śreṣṭham apāsya śinipuṅgabhavaḥ |
Sañjaya said: With a single arrow whose joints were bent, Hārdikya (Kṛtavarmā) cut down Sātyaki’s bow. Then, striking Sātyaki with ten arrows and wounding his horses with three, he again severed Sātyaki’s bow with one well-aimed shaft. Casting aside that excellent bow now cut, the foremost of the Śinis (Sātyaki) prepared to continue the fight—showing the relentless momentum of battle where skill and resolve, rather than anger alone, drive each exchange.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights kṣatriya-dharma in its battlefield form: disciplined skill, tactical focus, and steadfastness under loss. Even when a warrior’s weapon is repeatedly destroyed, the expected ethic is to maintain composure and continue one’s duty without collapse into panic or uncontrolled rage.
Kṛtavarmā (Hārdikya) repeatedly disables Sātyaki by cutting his bow with a specially described arrow, while also striking Sātyaki and injuring his horses. Sātyaki then discards the severed bow and prepares to continue the combat.