Shloka 61
Chapter 23: Śakuni Reports, Kaurava Advance, and Arjuna’s Penetration of the Host
सुसंनिकृष्टे संग्रामे भूयिष्ठे त्यक्तजीविता: । उस समय उस निकटवर्ती महायुद्धमें प्राणोंका मोह छोड़कर जूझनेवाले पाण्डवसेनाके रक्तरंजित घुड़सवार इस प्रकार बोले-- ।। ६० ई ।। नहि शक्यं रथैर्योद्धुं कुत एवं महागजै:
su-saṃnikṛṣṭe saṅgrāme bhūyiṣṭhe tyakta-jīvitāḥ | na hi śakyaṃ rathair yoddhuṃ kuta eva mahā-gajaiḥ ||
যুদ্ধ যেতিয়া একেবাৰে ওচৰলৈ আহি অতি তীব্ৰ হ’ল, তেতিয়া প্ৰাণমোহ ত্যাগ কৰা পাণ্ডৱসেনাৰ ৰক্তৰঞ্জিত অশ্বাৰোহীসকলে ক’লে— “ইয়াত ৰথেৰে যুদ্ধ কৰা নাযায়; তেন্তে মহাগজেৰে কেনেকৈ?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
In extreme close-quarters combat, ethical resolve (fearlessness and readiness to risk life) must be matched with practical discernment: certain weapons and formations—chariots and elephants—become ineffective or even harmful when the battlefield is too congested.
Sañjaya reports that as the fighting compresses into a tight melee, the combatants observe that the press of battle makes maneuvering impossible; they state that chariots cannot be used effectively, and therefore large elephants are even less workable in that situation.