Shloka 35
Chapter 12: Arjuna’s suppression of the Saṃśaptakas and duel with Aśvatthāmā
Drauṇi
ततः कुलूताधिपतिश्लापमानम्य सायकै: । दशभिस्तोमरं भित्त्वा षष्ट्या विव्याध पाण्डवम्
tataḥ kulūtādhipatiḥ ślāpamānamya sāyakaiḥ | daśabhis tomaraṁ bhittvā ṣaṣṭyā vivyādha pāṇḍavam ||
Sañjaya berkata: Lalu penguasa Kulūta melentur busurnya dan memanah, memecahkan tomara itu dengan sepuluh batang anak panah; dan dengan enam puluh lagi dia menikam pahlawan Pāṇḍava itu. Dalam himpitan pertempuran yang ganas, raja Kekaya Savarmā terbelah dua di medan perang.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the harsh reality of kṣatriya-dharma in war: skill and resolve are praised, yet the narrative also shows the grave cost—wounding and death—reminding readers that martial excellence operates within a tragic moral landscape where duty and destruction coexist.
Sañjaya reports rapid battlefield action: the Kulūta ruler draws his bow, breaks an incoming tomara with ten arrows, then strikes a Pāṇḍava warrior with sixty arrows. In the same great battle, the Kekaya king Savarmā is severed into two.