Shloka 21
Irāvān-nidhana-anantaraṃ Ghaṭotkaca-nādaḥ
After Irāvān’s fall: Ghaṭotkaca’s roar and the clash with Duryodhana
संनिवार्य शरांस्तांस्तु कृप: शारद्वतो युधि । चेकितानं रणे यत्तं राजन् विव्याध पत्रिभि:
saṃnivārya śarāṃs tāṃs tu kṛpaḥ śāradvato yudhi | cekitānaṃ raṇe yattaṃ rājan vivyādha patribhiḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: Setelah menahan dan mematahkan semua anak panah itu di tengah pertempuran, Kṛpa—putera Śaradvat—lalu, wahai Raja, menikam Cekitāna yang bertempur dengan waspada dan tekad, dengan anak panah berbulu. Adegan ini menegaskan disiplin perang yang keras: kemahiran dan ketenangan menjadi penentu, meski keberanian sentiasa berdepan bahaya.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the warrior ethic in the Mahābhārata: in war, disciplined skill—parrying and counterattacking without losing composure—determines outcomes. It also implicitly reflects the tragic moral tension of kṣatriya-dharma, where valor and duty operate within a violent arena.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Kṛpa, after neutralizing incoming arrows, strikes Cekitāna in the battle with fletched arrows. It is a brief combat vignette emphasizing Kṛpa’s defensive mastery followed by a decisive offensive hit.