Shloka 58
Chapter 51: Saṃdhyākāla-saṃhāra
Evening Withdrawal after Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
तस्य देहे निपतितो बाणो वज्जातिगो महान्
sañjaya uvāca | tasya dehe nipatito bāṇo vajrātigo mahān | tena bāṇena saṃviddho rukmarathaḥ pṛṣṭhabhāge rathasya niṣasāda | sa ca paramamūrcchitaḥ ||
三阇耶说道：一支巨箭，坚若金刚雷霆，正中鲁克摩罗他（Rukmaratha）之身。为此矢所重创，他沉坠于战车后座，陷入深深昏厥。在这场战争的道德氛围中，此偈凸显战场报应之迅疾与冷峻——勇武与技艺化为决断之力，而伤者的倒下又映出有身之命在刹帝利之法（kṣatriya-dharma）重压下的脆弱。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the immediacy of karmic consequence in war: martial skill and force bring swift results, while the wounded body’s collapse reminds the listener of human fragility. It frames battlefield action within the kṣatriya world where duty is pursued amid unavoidable suffering.
Sanjaya reports that a powerful, thunderbolt-like arrow strikes Rukmaratha. Severely wounded, Rukmaratha slumps to the rear of his chariot and loses consciousness.