Shloka 383
अर्जुनस्य द्रोणिप्रतिघातः कर्णोपसर्पणं च
Arjuna Checks Droṇaputra; Karṇa Advances
चिच्छेद चास्य सुदृढं धनुर्भल्लैस्त्रिभिस्त्रिधा । राजन! शत्रुवीरोंका संहार करनेवाले नकुलने अपने बाणोंसे सम्पूर्ण दिशाओंको आच्छादित करके फिर तीन बाणोंसे सुषेण और उसके सारथिको भी घायल कर दिया। साथ ही तीन भल्ल मारकर उसके सुदृढ़ धनुषके तीन टुकड़े कर डाले
sañjaya uvāca | ciccheda cāsya sudṛḍhaṃ dhanur bhallais tribhis tridhā | rājan nakulaḥ śatruvīrāṇāṃ saṃhārakaraḥ svabāṇaiḥ sarvā diśo 'cchādayitvā punaḥ tribhir bāṇaiḥ suṣeṇaṃ tasya sārathiṃ ca vyathayāmāsa | sahaiva tribhir bhallair asya sudṛḍhaṃ dhanus tridhā cakāra |
三阇耶说道：“大王啊，难俱罗——战场上可怖、专灭敌方勇将——以箭雨遮蔽四方。继而以三矢射伤苏舍那及其御者；又以三支阔刃箭将苏舍那坚固的弓斩作三段。”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights kṣatriya-dharma in its stark form: disciplined skill used to neutralize an opponent’s capacity to fight (wounding the warrior and charioteer, breaking the bow). It also implies an ethical tension—prowess and duty operate within a violent arena where outcomes hinge on precision and resolve.
Sanjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Nakula overwhelms the battlefield with arrows, then strikes Suṣeṇa and his charioteer with three arrows, and finally uses three bhalla missiles to cut Suṣeṇa’s strong bow into three pieces, effectively crippling his immediate combat ability.