Shloka 52
हयांश्व चतुर: शीघ्रं निजघान महाबल: । शरैश्वैनं सुनिशितै: क्षिप्रं विव्याध सप्तभि:
hayāṁś caturaḥ śīghraṁ nijaghāna mahābalaḥ | śaraiś cainaṁ suniśitaiḥ kṣipraṁ vivyādha saptabhiḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Pahlawan yang perkasa itu segera menewaskan keempat-empat kuda; kemudian, dengan tujuh anak panah yang amat tajam, dia pun segera menikamnya.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, strategic action often targets an opponent’s means of movement and defense first; it implicitly reflects the harsh logic of kṣatriya warfare, where effectiveness and speed can decide life and death, even as the ethical burden of such acts is carried within the larger dharmic conflict.
Sañjaya describes a powerful fighter rapidly killing the four horses of an enemy’s chariot and then immediately wounding the enemy himself with seven extremely sharp arrows.