Shloka 373
भूरिश्रवसः गर्हा, प्रायोपवेशः, सात्यकिकृतशिरच्छेदः
Bhūriśravas’s Censure, Prāyopaveśa, and Sātyaki’s Beheading
विव्याध निशितैस्तूर्ण सात्यकि: सत्यविक्रम: । तत्पश्चात् सत्यपराक्रमी सात्यकिने तिरसठ बाणोंसे उसके चारों घोड़ोंको और सात तीखे बाणोंसे उसके सारथिको भी शीघ्र ही क्षत-विक्षत कर दिया
sañjaya uvāca | vivyādha niśitais tūrṇaṃ sātyakiḥ satyavikramaḥ | tatpaścāt satyaparākramaḥ sātyakine tirasathabāṇaiḥ tasya catvāro hayān sapta tīrṇabāṇaiś ca tasya sārathiṃ api śīghram eva kṣata-vikṣataṃ cakāra |
サンジャヤは言った。武勇いささかも衰えぬサーティヤキは、鋭い矢をもってたちまち敵を射貫いた。ついで真の剛勇を示し、六十三の矢で相手の四頭の馬を射倒し、さらに七本の鋭矢で御者をも瞬く間に深く傷つけ、引き裂いた――戦場の苛烈な義務の掟においては、戦車を支えるものを断つことが、抵抗を終わらせる決定打となることを物語っている。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the hard logic of kṣatriya-dharma in war: victory often depends on disabling the enemy’s mobility and support system (horses and charioteer). It reflects how duty-driven combat can prioritize decisive action over gentler ideals, underscoring the tragic moral tension inherent in battlefield righteousness.
Sanjaya reports that Satyaki rapidly strikes his opponent with sharp arrows, then specifically targets the chariot’s horses with sixty-three arrows and wounds the charioteer with seven more, effectively crippling the enemy chariot’s ability to fight or retreat.