Shloka 23
दण्डधारवधः | The Slaying of Daṇḍadhāra
भारत! प्रतिविन्ध्यने अपने बाणोंद्वारा उसके धनुषको काटकर पाँच तीखे बाणोंसे चित्रको भी घायल कर दिया ।। ततः शक्ति महाराज स्वर्णघण्टां दुरासदाम् | प्राहिणोत् तव पौत्राय घोरामग्निशिखामिव,महाराज! तदनन्तर चित्रने आपके पौत्रपर घोर अग्निशिखाके समान सुवर्णमय घंटोंसे सुशोभित एक दुर्धर्ष शक्ति चलायी
sañjaya uvāca |
bhārata! prativindhyena svabāṇair asya dhanuś ciccheda pañcabhiś ca tīkṣṇaiḥ śarair citraṃ vyathayām āsa ||
tataḥ śaktiṃ mahārāja svarṇaghaṇṭāṃ durāsadām |
prāhiṇot tava pautrāya ghorām agniśikhām iva ||
Disse Sañjaya: Ó Bhārata, Prativindhya, com suas próprias flechas, cortou o arco do adversário e, com cinco dardos afiados, feriu também Chitra. Então, ó grande rei, Chitra arremessou contra teu neto uma terrível arma śakti, difícil de suportar, adornada com sinos de ouro, ardendo como uma língua de fogo—mostrando como, na fúria da batalha, perícia e retaliação rapidamente escalam para meios cada vez mais letais.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how combat skill and wounded pride can intensify conflict: once a warrior is disarmed and injured, retaliation may escalate to more dangerous weapons. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between kṣatriya valor and the tragic momentum of violence.
Prativindhya severs his opponent’s bow and wounds Chitra with five sharp arrows. In response, Chitra hurls a formidable śakti (spear-like missile), decorated with golden bells and described as blazing like fire, aimed at Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s grandson.