Shloka 12

Devanagari script

दुर्मुखस्य तु भल्लेन सर्वावरणभेदिना । जहार सारथे: कायाच्छिर: संनतपर्वणा,इसके बाद झुकी हुई गाँठवाले तथा सब प्रकारके आवरणोंका भेदन करनेवाले एक भल्लके द्वारा दुर्मुखके सारथिका मस्तक धड़से अलग कर दिया

Transliteration

durmukhasya tu bhallena sarvāvaraṇabhedinā | jahāra sāratheḥ kāyāc chiraḥ saṃnataparvaṇā ||

Translation

สัญชัยกล่าวว่า—ด้วยศรภัลละที่ทะลวงเครื่องป้องกันได้ทุกชนิดและมีข้อศรงอ เขาตัดศีรษะสารถีของทุรมุขออกจากกาย

Word by Word

दुर्मुखस्यof Durmukha

तुbut/indeed

भल्लेनwith an arrow (bhalla)

सर्वावरणभेदिनाby (one) that pierces all coverings/armour

जहारhe took away / carried off

सारथेःof the charioteer

कायात्from the body

शिरःhead

संनतपर्वणाwith (an arrow) having bent joints/knots

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Durmukha

sārathi (charioteer)

bhalla (arrow)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ruthless efficiency of war: removing a key support like the charioteer can decisively disable a fighter. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension—martial duty and strategic necessity unfolding amid severe human suffering.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Sañjaya’s battlefield report, a warrior uses a bhalla-arrow that pierces armor to strike Durmukha’s charioteer, severing his head from his body—an act that would leave Durmukha’s chariot effectively compromised.