Shloka 36
Arjuna’s Concentrated Archery and the Rout of the Kaurava Mahārathas
Gāṇḍīva-Nirghoṣa Episode
अथास्य युगमेकेन चतुर्भिश्चतुरों हयान् । षष्ठेन च शिर: कायाच्छरेण रथसारथे:,एक बाणसे उनके रथका जूआ काटकर चार बाणोंसे चारों घोड़े मार डाले और छठे बाणसे रथके सारथिका सिर धड़से अलग कर दिया
athāsya yugam ekena caturbhiś caturaḥ hayān | ṣaṣṭhena ca śiraḥ kāyāc chareṇa rathasāratheḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: Kemudian, dengan sebatang anak panah sahaja dia memutuskan kuk pada kereta itu; dengan empat anak panah lagi dia menumbangkan keempat-empat kuda; dan dengan anak panah yang keenam dia memenggal kepala sais, memisahkannya daripada tubuh.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, strategic disabling of an enemy’s mobility and command (yoke, horses, charioteer) can decide the encounter. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension: martial duty and skill are praised, yet the grim cost of violence is made explicit.
A warrior (implied by context) rapidly neutralizes an opponent’s chariot: first cutting the yoke with one arrow, then killing the four horses with four arrows, and finally severing the charioteer’s head with a sixth arrow—rendering the chariot helpless.