Shloka 503

Devanagari script

विसूताश्वरथं कृत्वा ललाटे त्रिभिरार्पयत्‌ । सात्यकिने लोहेके बने हुए नौ नूतन बाणोंसे दुःशासनको सारथि, घोड़ों और रथसे वंचित करके उसके ललाटमें तीन बाण मारे

Transliteration

visūtāśvarathaṃ kṛtvā lalāṭe tribhir ārpayat |

Translation

संजय म्हणाला—सात्यकीने लोखंडाचे नऊ नवे बाण सोडून दुःशासनास असा प्रहार केला की तो सारथी, घोडे आणि रथ यांपासून वंचित झाला; मग सात्यकीने त्याच्या ललाटात तीन बाण रोवले.

Word by Word

विसूतdeprived of charioteer

अश्वhorse(s)

रथम्chariot

कृत्वाhaving made (having rendered)

ललाटेon the forehead

त्रिभिःwith three

आर्पयत्he caused to be placed / he struck (lit. made to be delivered)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Sātyaki

Duḥśāsana

charioteer (sūta)

horses (aśvāḥ)

chariot (ratha)

arrows (bāṇāḥ)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma in its stark form: in war, disabling the opponent’s means (chariot, horses, charioteer) and then striking decisively is portrayed as tactical righteousness within the battlefield code, aimed at stopping adharma’s advance rather than indulging in cruelty for its own sake.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Sātyaki overwhelms Duḥśāsana, depriving him of chariot support (driver, horses, and chariot), and then shoots three arrows into his forehead, marking a dramatic moment of dominance in the ongoing Kurukṣetra battle.