Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 5
Nakula’s Engagement with Citra-sena and Karṇa’s Sons; Śalya Re-stabilizes the Kaurava Host
हयौघान् पादरक्षांश्न रथिनस्तत्र शिक्षिता: । शरै: सम्प्रेषयामासु: परलोकाय भारत,भारत! उस युद्धस्थलमें शिक्षाप्राप्त रथियोंने घुड़सवारों तथा पादरक्षकोंको अपने बाणोंसे मारकर यमलोक भेज दिया
sañjaya uvāca | hayaughān pādarākṣāṁś ca rathinas tatra śikṣitāḥ | śaraiḥ sampreṣayāmāsuḥ paralokāya bhārata ||
اے بھارت! وہاں اُس میدانِ جنگ میں تربیت یافتہ رتھیوں نے گھڑ سواروں کے جھنڈ اور پیادہ محافظوں کو اپنے تیروں سے مار گرا کر پرلوک کی راہ دکھا دی۔
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how disciplined training (śikṣā) in warfare, when applied in battle, becomes a decisive and deadly force. Ethically, it points to the stark reality of kṣatriya conflict: skill and duty in war lead directly to the taking of life and the irreversible consequence of death (paraloka).
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that on the battlefield the trained chariot-warriors shot volleys of arrows, killing cavalry and foot-guards and thereby sending them to the afterlife—i.e., they were slain in large numbers.