Shloka 43
Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)
शिने: पौत्रस्य तु रथं परिगृहा महाद्विप:
śineḥ pautrasya tu rathaṃ parigṛhya mahādvipaḥ
قال سانجيا: إن الفيل الجبار، بعدما أمسك بعربةِ حفيدِ شيني، اندفع يطبق عليها—صورةٌ لقوةٍ طاغيةٍ تهوي على محاربٍ واحدٍ وسط فوضى القتال، حيث يُمتحَن البأسُ أمام البطشِ العاري.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a battlefield ethic: courage and steadiness are tested when a warrior faces disproportionate, crushing power. It underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring theme that dharma in war includes endurance and composure amid sudden, life-threatening reversals.
Sañjaya describes a war-elephant (mahādvipa) moving in and physically seizing or hemming in the chariot belonging to Śini’s grandson, signaling an imminent danger and a dramatic escalation in that combat encounter.