Shloka 516
सारथिं विशिखैश्लास्य दशभि: समकम्पयत् | तदनन्तर नौ बाणोंसे उन्हें घायल करके एक बाणसे उनके ध्वजको भी काट डाला। फिर दस बाणोंद्वारा उनके सारथिको कम्पित कर दिया
sārathiṁ viśikhaiḥ ślāsyā daśabhiḥ samakampayat | tadanantara nava bāṇaiḥ tān āhatya ekena bāṇena teṣāṁ dhvajaṁ api chittvā | punaḥ daśabāṇaiḥ teṣāṁ sārathiṁ kampitaṁ cakāra |
Sañjaya said: With ten sharp arrows he shook the charioteer. Then, immediately after, he wounded them with nine arrows and with a single arrow cut down their banner as well. Again, with ten arrows, he made their charioteer reel—an act that displays the ruthless precision of battlefield skill, where striking the driver and the standard aims to break both control and morale.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how warfare targets not only the body but also command and morale: striking the charioteer disrupts control, and cutting the banner undermines confidence and identity. Ethically, it reflects the harsh reality of kṣatriya warfare where strategic advantage is pursued through precise, demoralizing blows.
Sañjaya reports a rapid sequence of archery: the attacker first shakes the charioteer with ten arrows, then wounds the opponent(s) with nine arrows, cuts down their chariot-banner with one arrow, and again makes the charioteer reel with another volley of ten.