Shloka 473
शकुनिवधः — Sahadeva’s Slaying of Śakuni
with Ulūka’s fall
सप्त चाष्टौ च त्रिंशच्च सायकैरनयत् क्षयम् । रणभूमिमें सुशर्माका वध करके अर्जुनने अपने बाणोंद्वारा उसके पैंतालीस महारथी पुत्रोंकी भी यमलोक पहुँचा दिया
sañjaya uvāca | sapta cāṣṭau ca triṃśac ca sāyakair anayad kṣayam | raṇabhūmau suśarmāṇaṃ vadhaṃ kṛtvā arjunena svabāṇair api tasya pañcatvāriṃśan mahārathī-putrā yamalokaṃ prāpitāḥ |
Sañjaya said: With his arrows Arjuna brought to destruction seven, eight, and thirty warriors; and on the battlefield, after slaying Suśarmā, he also sent Suśarmā’s forty-five sons—great chariot-fighters—to Yama’s realm by his own shafts. The passage underscores the grim, inexorable logic of kṣatriya warfare: prowess and duty drive the combat forward, even as the ethical weight of mass killing remains starkly visible.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh reality of kṣatriya-dharma in a total war: a warrior’s duty and skill can culminate in large-scale killing, and the narrative does not soften the moral gravity—death is presented as an inevitable consequence of choosing the battlefield path.
Sañjaya reports that Arjuna, using his arrows, destroys groups of enemy fighters, kills Suśarmā, and then slays Suśarmā’s forty-five sons—described as mahārathīs—sending them to Yama’s realm.