Mahabharata 9.21.24 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 24
Adhyāya 21 — Duryodhanasya bāṇavarṣaḥ
Duryodhana’s Arrow-Storm and the Dust-Obscured Engagements
तच्छूलं सात्वतो हाजोौ निर्भिद्य निशितै: शरै: । चूर्णितं पातयामास मोहयन्निव माधवम्
tacchūlaṃ sātvato hājo nirbhidya niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ | cūrṇitaṃ pātayāmāsa mohayann iva mādhavam ||
ಆದರೆ ಸಾತ್ವತವೀರ ಸಾತ್ಯಕಿ ತನ್ನ ತೀಕ್ಷ್ಣ ಬಾಣಗಳಿಂದ ಆ ಶೂಲವನ್ನು ಭೇದಿಸಿ ಚೂರ್ನಮಾಡಿ, ಕೃತವರ್ಮನನ್ನು ಮೋಹಗೊಳಿಸುವಂತೆ, ಚೂರುಚೂರಾದ ಆಯುಧವನ್ನು ಭೂಮಿಗೆ ಬೀಳಿಸಿದನು।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in violent conflict, the text highlights disciplined skill and alertness: a lethal threat is met not with panic but with precise action, suggesting that steadiness of mind is a decisive ethical and practical strength in crisis.
Sañjaya describes a battlefield moment where the Sātvata hero (typically Sātyaki) counters an incoming spear by striking it with sharp arrows, shattering it and making the broken weapon fall to the ground, in a display likened to ‘bewildering’ Mādhava.
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