Shloka 28
त्रिपुरदाह-इतिहासः
Tripura-destruction exemplum and counsel to Śalya
तस्य ती&णैर्महावेगैर्भल्लै: संनतपर्वभि: । व्यहनत् कार्मुकं राजंस्तूणीरांश्वैव सर्वश:
tasya tīṣṇair mahāvegair bhallaiḥ saṃnataparvabhiḥ | vyahanat kārmukaṃ rājan tūṇīrāṃś caiva sarvaśaḥ ||
Sinabi ni Sañjaya: Sa pamamagitan ng mga palasong bhalla na matalim na parang labaha, mabilis na humahagibis, at may matitibay na dugtungan sa katawan ng palaso, pinabagsak niya ang busog ng kalaban, O Hari, at winasak din nang lubos ang mga sisidlan ng palaso. Sa malupit na lohika ng digmaan, ito’y sadyang pag-aalis ng sandata: hindi lamang pananakit sa mandirigma, kundi pagputol sa kanyang kakayahang lumaban, upang ang husay at tapang ay maging panandaliang kawalang-lakas.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a battlefield ethic where victory is pursued through strategic disarming—neutralizing an opponent’s means to fight rather than only inflicting bodily harm. It underscores how power in war often lies in controlling capability (weapons, resources), raising ethical reflection on whether disabling is a form of restraint or simply another efficient mode of violence.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a warrior (contextually, the opponent of the one being described) uses swift, sharp bhalla arrows to strike and break the other’s bow and to destroy his quivers, effectively leaving him without immediate means to continue archery in the fight.