Shloka 25
इन्द्रजिद्-लक्ष्मणयुद्धम्
Indrajit and Lakṣmaṇa: Escalation through Concealment
इधर भीमसेनने युद्धमें अपने ऊपर आक्रमण करनेवाले राजा कोटिकास्यके सारथिका, जो उस समय घोड़ोंका संचालन कर रहा था, छुरेसे सिर उड़ा दिया ।। न बुबोध हतं सूतं स राजा बाहुशालिना । तस्याश्चा व्यद्रवन् संख्ये हतसूतास्ततस्तत:,परंतु राजाको यह मालूम न हो सका कि बाहुशाली भीमके द्वारा मेरा सारथि मारा गया है। उसके मारे जानेसे कोटिकास्यके घोड़े रणभूमिमें इधर-उधर भागने लगे
vaiśampāyana uvāca | idha bhīmasenena yuddhe svopari praharantam rājānaṃ koṭikāśyasya sārathikaḥ, yaḥ tadā aśvān saṃcālayan āsīt, kṣureṇa śiraś chinnaḥ || na bubodha hataṃ sūtaṃ sa rājā bāhuśālinā | tasyāś ca vyadravan saṃkhye hatasūtās tataḥ tataḥ ||
Disse Vaiśaṃpāyana: Ali, em pleno combate, Bhīmasena, com arma de fio como navalha, decepou a cabeça do sūta—o cocheiro—do rei Koṭikāśya, que naquele momento governava os cavalos. O rei, embora atacado, não percebeu que seu cocheiro fora morto por Bhīma, de braços poderosos. Caído o condutor, os cavalos de Koṭikāśya, sem guia, dispararam e se espalharam pelo campo de batalha em várias direções.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights a practical wartime ethic: removing the charioteer disables a warrior’s mobility and control, showing how a single supporting role (the sūta) can determine the outcome. It also underscores the battlefield truth that power without awareness can be undone by sudden, unseen losses.
Bhīma beheads King Koṭikāśya’s charioteer while the king is attacking. The king does not immediately notice the charioteer’s death; as a result, the now-driverless horses panic and scatter across the battlefield.