Shloka 8
कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke
धुर्यान् धुर्यगतान् सूतान् ध्वजांश्वापानि सायकान् | पाणीन् सरत्नानसकृद् भल्लैश्रिच्छेद पाण्डव:,पाण्डुपुत्र धनंजयने शत्रुओंके रथोंमें जुते हुए भारवाही घोड़ों, सारथियों, ध्वजों, धनुषों, बाणों और रत्नभूषणभूषित हाथोंको बारंबार काट डाला
dhuryān dhuryagatān sūtān dhvajān śvāpāni sāyakān | pāṇīn saratnān asakṛd bhallaiś ciccheda pāṇḍavaḥ ||
Санджая сказал: Пандава (Арджуна) снова и снова острыми стрелами бхалла рассекал у врагов упряжных, тягловых коней, колесничих, знамена, луки, стрелы и даже руки, украшенные драгоценностями.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim discipline of kṣatriya-duty in war: Arjuna’s repeated, targeted strikes show controlled skill applied to a violent context, where effectiveness and resolve are treated as obligations within the battlefield code.
Sañjaya reports that Arjuna repeatedly severs key components of enemy chariots—yoked horses, charioteers, banners, bows, arrows, and even the opponents’ jewel-adorned hands—using sharp bhalla-arrows, thereby disabling and dismantling the enemy’s fighting capacity.