Shloka 413
Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)
किरतां शरवर्षाणि स नाग: पर्यवर्तत । बाणोंकी वर्षा करते हुए भयंकर धनुर्धर रथियोंका मण्डल उस हाथीपर सब ओरसे आक्रमण कर रहा था और वह हाथी चारों ओर चक्कर काट रहा था
kiratāṁ śaravarṣāṇi sa nāgaḥ paryavartata |
قال سنجيا: وبينما كانت وابلُ السهام يُمطر، ظلّ ذلك الفيل يدور ويتقلّب. حلقةٌ مهيبةٌ من رماة القسيّ على العربات هاجمته من كل جانب بلا انقطاع—صورةٌ لحصار الحرب الذي لا يلين، وللقوة الساحقة لعنفٍ منسَّق.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war amplifies coordinated aggression: when many act together, even a powerful being is driven into frantic motion. Ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between kṣatriya duty in battle and the stark suffering produced by relentless, collective violence.
Sañjaya describes an elephant under intense missile-fire. Chariot-warriors form a surrounding circle and attack from all directions, while the elephant keeps turning and circling, trying to respond or escape amid the arrow-rain.