Shloka 25
इन्द्रजिद्-लक्ष्मणयुद्धम्
Indrajit and Lakṣmaṇa: Escalation through Concealment
इधर भीमसेनने युद्धमें अपने ऊपर आक्रमण करनेवाले राजा कोटिकास्यके सारथिका, जो उस समय घोड़ोंका संचालन कर रहा था, छुरेसे सिर उड़ा दिया ।। न बुबोध हतं सूतं स राजा बाहुशालिना । तस्याश्चा व्यद्रवन् संख्ये हतसूतास्ततस्तत:,परंतु राजाको यह मालूम न हो सका कि बाहुशाली भीमके द्वारा मेरा सारथि मारा गया है। उसके मारे जानेसे कोटिकास्यके घोड़े रणभूमिमें इधर-उधर भागने लगे
vaiśampāyana uvāca | idha bhīmasenena yuddhe svopari praharantam rājānaṃ koṭikāśyasya sārathikaḥ, yaḥ tadā aśvān saṃcālayan āsīt, kṣureṇa śiraś chinnaḥ || na bubodha hataṃ sūtaṃ sa rājā bāhuśālinā | tasyāś ca vyadravan saṃkhye hatasūtās tataḥ tataḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Here, in the midst of battle, Bhīmasena struck down with a razor the charioteer of King Koṭikāśya—the driver who at that moment was controlling the horses—severing his head. The king, though attacked, did not realize that his sūta had been slain by the strong-armed Bhīma. Once the charioteer fell, the horses of Koṭikāśya, now without guidance, bolted and scattered across the battlefield in different directions.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights a practical wartime ethic: removing the charioteer disables a warrior’s mobility and control, showing how a single supporting role (the sūta) can determine the outcome. It also underscores the battlefield truth that power without awareness can be undone by sudden, unseen losses.
Bhīma beheads King Koṭikāśya’s charioteer while the king is attacking. The king does not immediately notice the charioteer’s death; as a result, the now-driverless horses panic and scatter across the battlefield.