Shloka 1253
ललाटे दारयामास शरेणानतपर्वणा । महाराज! तब अभश्व॒त्थामाने झुकी हुई गाँठवाले बाणसे भीमसेनके सारथिका ललाट छेद दिया
lalāṭe dārayāmāsa śareṇāntaparvaṇā | mahārāja! tad abhāśvatthāmāne jhukī huī gāṁṭhavāle bāṇase bhīmasenasya sārathikā lalāṭaṁ chittvāvidhyat |
サञ्जयは語った。「大王よ、そのときアシュヴァッターマンは、鉄のように硬く鍛えた鏃を持ち、節が下に曲がった矢で、ビーマセーナの御者の額を割り、眉間を貫いた。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh reality of war: even supporting figures like charioteers become targets, raising ethical tension between battlefield necessity and the ideal restraints of dharma. It invites reflection on responsibility—those who choose war must also bear the moral burden of its collateral suffering.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, amid Aśvatthāmā’s attack, an arrow with a hardened tip strikes and splits the forehead of Bhīma’s charioteer, describing a precise and lethal battlefield blow.