Shloka 373
भूरिश्रवसः गर्हा, प्रायोपवेशः, सात्यकिकृतशिरच्छेदः
Bhūriśravas’s Censure, Prāyopaveśa, and Sātyaki’s Beheading
विव्याध निशितैस्तूर्ण सात्यकि: सत्यविक्रम: । तत्पश्चात् सत्यपराक्रमी सात्यकिने तिरसठ बाणोंसे उसके चारों घोड़ोंको और सात तीखे बाणोंसे उसके सारथिको भी शीघ्र ही क्षत-विक्षत कर दिया
sañjaya uvāca | vivyādha niśitais tūrṇaṃ sātyakiḥ satyavikramaḥ | tatpaścāt satyaparākramaḥ sātyakine tirasathabāṇaiḥ tasya catvāro hayān sapta tīrṇabāṇaiś ca tasya sārathiṃ api śīghram eva kṣata-vikṣataṃ cakāra |
सञ्जय उवाच—सत्यविक्रमः सात्यकिः शीघ्रं निशितैर्बाणैः शत्रुं विव्याध। ततः सत्यपराक्रमः स तिरसठ्या बाणैश्चतुरोऽस्य हयान् पातयामास, सप्तभिश्च तीक्ष्णैः शरैः सूतमपि क्षतविक्षतं शीघ्रमेव चकार।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the hard logic of kṣatriya-dharma in war: victory often depends on disabling the enemy’s mobility and support system (horses and charioteer). It reflects how duty-driven combat can prioritize decisive action over gentler ideals, underscoring the tragic moral tension inherent in battlefield righteousness.
Sanjaya reports that Satyaki rapidly strikes his opponent with sharp arrows, then specifically targets the chariot’s horses with sixty-three arrows and wounds the charioteer with seven more, effectively crippling the enemy chariot’s ability to fight or retreat.