Shloka 13
Śaineya–Bhūriśravas: Genealogy, Svayaṃvara Contest, and the Maheśvara Boon
सारथिं च शतेनैव भारद्वाजस्य पश्यत: । लाघवं युयुधानस्य दृष्टवा द्रोणो महारथ:,तत्पश्चात् द्रोणके देखते-देखते सात्यकिने सौ बाणोंसे उनके सारथिको भी घायल कर दिया। युयुधानकी यह फुर्ती देखकर महारथी द्रोणने सत्तर बाणोंसे सात्यकिके सारथिको बींधकर तीन-तीन बाणोंसे उनके घोड़ोंको भी घायल कर दिया। फिर एक बाणसे सात्यकिके रथपर फहराते हुए ध्वजको भी काट डाला
sārathiṁ ca śatenaiva bhāradvājasya paśyataḥ | lāghavaṁ yuyudhānasya dṛṣṭvā droṇo mahārathaḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: Tepat di hadapan Bhāradvāja (Droṇa), Yuyudhāna memanah sais kereta dengan genap seratus anak panah. Melihat kepantasan itu, Droṇa sang maharathi membalas—menembusi sais Sātyaki dengan tujuh puluh anak panah, lalu mencederakan setiap ekor kudanya dengan tiga anak panah.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how battlefield excellence (lāghava—agility and speed) provokes immediate counter-skill from an equal master, and it exposes the ethical strain of war: combatants often seek advantage by crippling the opponent’s supports (charioteer, horses), not only by confronting the warrior directly—an aspect of kṣatriya-dharma that is effective yet morally fraught.
Sañjaya narrates that Yuyudhāna (Sātyaki) strikes the charioteer with a hundred arrows in Droṇa’s sight; Droṇa, impressed by Sātyaki’s quickness, retaliates with a precise, overwhelming response—targeting Sātyaki’s charioteer and (as the surrounding passage indicates) the horses and standard—aiming to disable Sātyaki’s mobility and battlefield effectiveness.