Shloka 226
Śalya Appointed as Karṇa’s Sārathi; Discourse on Praise, Blame, and Beneficial Counsel (कर्णस्य शल्यसारथ्यं तथा स्तवनिन्दाविचारः)
पज्चभिरन्निशितैर्भल्लैर्जत्रदेशे समाहनत् । हृदिकवंशी यादवोंके महारथी वीर कृतवर्माको सामने पाकर शिखण्डीने उसके गलेकी हँसलीपर पाँच तीखे भललोंद्वारा प्रहार किया
pañcabhir aniśitair bhallair jatradeśe samāhanat | hṛdikavaṃśī yādavānāṃ mahārathī vīraḥ kṛtavarmāṇaṃ samane prāpya śikhaṇḍī tasya galasya haṃsalīṣu pañcabhiḥ tīkṣṇair bhallaiḥ prahāram akarot ||
Sañjaya thưa: “Đối mặt với dũng sĩ Kṛtavarmā—một đại chiến xa của dòng Yādava—Śikhaṇḍī đã đánh trúng vùng xương đòn của ông ta bằng năm mũi tên bhalla sắc như dao.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the battlefield ethic where a kṣatriya’s role is to act decisively in combat; moral reflection here is implicit—war compresses choices into moments of tactical necessity, revealing how duty and violence intertwine in epic warfare.
Śikhaṇḍī meets Kṛtavarmā face-to-face and wounds him by striking the collarbone/neck-joint area with five sharp bhalla arrows, as reported by Sañjaya.