Shloka 583
चतुर्भिश्चतुरो वाहान् विव्याध सुबलात्मज: । प्रजानाथ! फिर सुबलपुत्रने एक बाणसे ध्वजको, दो बाणोंसे छत्रको और चार बाणोंसे उनके चारों घोड़ोंको भी घायल कर दिया
caturbhiś caturo vāhān vivyādha subalātmajaḥ |
Wika ni Sañjaya: O panginoon ng mga tao! Ipinamalas ng anak ni Subala ang malupit na husay sa digmaan—sa isang palaso’y tinamaan ang watawat, sa dalawang palaso’y tinamaan ang payong-maharlika, at sa apat na palaso’y nasugatan ang apat na kabayo—sa gitna ng tumitinding karahasan ng digmaan.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how technical prowess in war can be morally ambivalent: extraordinary skill is displayed in service of destruction, underscoring the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between kṣatriya excellence and the tragic cost of conflict.
Sañjaya reports that Subala’s son (Śakuni) shoots with great accuracy—hitting the opponent’s banner with one arrow, the parasol with two, and then wounding all four horses with four arrows—thereby impairing the enemy’s chariot and signaling dominance in that exchange.