संजय उवाच
ततो दुःशासनः क्रुद्धः सहदेवम् उपाद्रवत् ॥
रथवेगेन तीव्रेण कम्पयन्न् इव मेदिनीम् ॥
तस्यापतत एवाशु भल्लेनामित्रकर्शनः ॥
माद्रीसुतः शिरो यन्तुः सशिरस्त्राणम् अच्छिनत् ॥
नैनं दुःशासनः सूतं नापि कश् चन सैनिकः ॥
हृतोत्तमाङ्गम् आशुत्वात् सहदेवेन बुद्धवान् ॥
यदा त्व् असंगृहीतत्वात् प्रयान्त्य् अश्वा यथासुखम् ॥
ततो दुःशासनः सूतं बुद्धवान् गतचेतसम् ॥
saṃjaya uvāca
tato duḥśāsanaḥ kruddhaḥ sahadevam upādravat ||
rathavegena tīvreṇa kampayann iva medinīm ||
tasyāpatata evāśu bhallenāmitrakarśanaḥ ||
mādrīsutaḥ śiro yantuḥ saśirastrāṇam acchinat ||
nainaṃ duḥśāsanaḥ sūtaṃ nāpi kaś cana sainikaḥ ||
hṛtottamāṅgam āśutvāt sahadevena buddhavān ||
yadā tv asaṃgṛhītatvāt prayānty aśvā yathāsukham ||
tato duḥśāsanaḥ sūtaṃ buddhavān gatacetasam ||
Then the enraged Duhshasana charged at Sahadeva with the fierce speed of his chariot, as if shaking the earth. As he swiftly rushed forward, the son of Madri, tormentor of foes, cut off the charioteer's head together with his helmet with a broad-headed arrow. Neither Duhshasana nor any warrior noticed that the head had been struck off by Sahadeva, so swift was the deed. But when the horses, held back by no one, went every which way, only then did Duhshasana notice that his charioteer was lifeless.
73114551d344 · published Jul 19, 2026, 5:08:17 PM UTC
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The charioteer's head is severed so instantaneously that even Duhshasana himself does not notice, until the horses scatter out of control: death arrives faster than awareness. It is telling that the driver's death becomes known only through the horses running wild. The verse teaches that in the speed of battle death outruns thought; and a person often learns of disaster not at once but only through its consequences -- just as one learns that the reins of fate have slipped from one's hands only when the chariot is already careening blindly.