Shloka 32
कर्णस्य दानप्रतिज्ञा–शल्योपदेश–वाक्ययुद्धम्
Karna’s Gift-Vows, Shalya’s Counsel, and the Battle of Words
निगृहा च गजा: केचित् पार्श्रस्थैर्भशदारुणै: । रथाश्व॒सादिभिस्तत्र सम्भिन्ना न्यपतन् भुवि
nigṛhya ca gajāḥ kecit pārśvasthaiḥ bhayadāruṇaiḥ | rathāśvasādibhis tatra sambhinnā nyapatan bhuvi ||
কতক হাতিকে রুদ্ধ করে তাদের পার্শ্বে অবস্থানকারী ভয়ংকর রথী ও অশ্বারোহীরা তীরবৃষ্টিতে বিদীর্ণ করত; ফলে সেই হাতিগুলি সেখানেই মাটিতে লুটিয়ে পড়ত।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how, in war, even the mightiest force (war-elephants) can be rendered helpless through coordinated restraint and flank assault; it implicitly warns that power without protection, strategy, and discipline becomes vulnerable to organized violence.
Sañjaya reports a battlefield scene where elephants are first blocked/contained, then attacked from the sides by fearsome chariot-fighters and horsemen who shower them with arrows until the elephants, grievously wounded, fall to the ground.