Shloka 266
शल्यस्य पाण्डवसेनापीडनम् — Śalya’s Assault on the Pāṇḍava Host
with Omens and Bhīma’s Counter
रथं विशकलीकर्तु समारब्धौ विशाम्पते । राजन! प्रजानाथ! उन दोनों भाइयोंने झुकी हुई गाँठवाले बाणोंद्वारा नकुलके रथके टुकड़े-टुकड़े करनेकी चेष्टा आरम्भ की
rathaṁ viśakalīkartuṁ samārabdhau viśāmpate | rājan prajānātha |
Sañjaya sprach: O Herr des Volkes, o König, Beschützer deiner Untertanen — jene beiden Brüder begannen, Nakulas Wagen in Stücke zu schlagen, indem sie ihre Pfeile mit gekrümmtem Knoten (krumm gegliedert) abschossen, um ihn zu zerbrechen. Die Szene betont die erbarmungslose Präzision der Schlachtfeldtaktik: Das Fahrzeug eines Kriegers kampfunfähig zu machen, ist ein direkter Angriff auf seine Fähigkeit zu kämpfen und zu überleben.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a wartime ethic where strategy often targets an opponent’s means of fighting—here, the chariot—showing how power and skill can be used to incapacitate rather than merely confront. It invites reflection on the moral tension between tactical necessity in dharma-yuddha ideals and the brutal realities of combat.
Sañjaya reports to the king that two brothers have begun an assault aimed at destroying Nakula’s chariot, using specialized bent or crooked-jointed arrows to break it apart and thereby weaken Nakula’s position in the battle.