Shloka 363
द्रोणकर्णयोः निशि संप्रहारः — Night Engagement with Droṇa and Karṇa
क्षुरैश्रविच्छेद बीभत्सुर्द्धिधैकैकं त्रिधेव च अर्जुनने हाथोंमें प्रास और तोमर लिये खूनसे रँँगे हुए घुड़सवारोंमेंसे प्रत्येकके अपने छुरोंद्वारा दो-दो और तीन-तीन टुकड़े कर डाले
kṣuraiś chaviccheda-bībhatsur dvidhāikaikaṃ tridhāiva ca | arjunena hastābhyāṃ prāsa-tomara-dhāriṇāṃ rudhira-rañjitānāṃ hayārohāṇāṃ pratyekaṃ sva-kṣuraiḥ dvi-dvi-tri-tri-khaṇḍīkṛtaṃ ||
ಸಂಜಯನು ಹೇಳಿದನು— ಭೀಭತ್ಸು ಅರ್ಜುನನು ಪ್ರಾಸ ಮತ್ತು ತೋಮರ ಹಿಡಿದ ರಕ್ತಸಿಕ್ತ ಅಶ್ವಾರೋಹಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಬ್ಬನನ್ನೂ ತನ್ನ ತೀಕ್ಷ್ಣ ಕ್ಷುರಗಳಿಂದ ಎರಡು ತುಂಡುಗಳಾಗಿ, ಕೆಲವರನ್ನು ಮೂರು ತುಂಡುಗಳಾಗಿಯೂ ಕತ್ತರಿಸಿದನು.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh reality of dharma-bound warfare: a kṣatriya like Arjuna must act decisively and skillfully in battle, even when the acts are violent. It frames prowess not as cruelty for its own sake, but as grim execution of duty within an ethically fraught conflict.
Sañjaya reports that Arjuna, wielding sharp weapons, strikes mounted warriors carrying spears and javelins. The horsemen, already blood-stained amid the fighting, are cut down individually—some split into two, others into three pieces—emphasizing Arjuna’s overwhelming martial force in the Drona-parvan battle.