Shloka 76
Śālva’s Elephant Assault and the Counterstroke (शाल्वस्य नागारूढाभ्यवहारः)
हतप्रवीरा विध्वस्ता निकृत्ताश्न शितै: शरै: । जिनके प्रमुख वीर मारे गये थे, वे कौरवसैनिक महारथी शल्यका वध हो जानेपर पैने बाणोंसे क्षत-विक्षत और विध्वस्त हो विजयकी ओरसे निराश हो गये थे
hatapravīrā vidhvastā nikṛttāś ca śitaiḥ śaraiḥ |
Sañjaya sprach: Da ihre vornehmsten Helden gefallen waren, wurden die Kaurava-Truppen zerschmettert und von scharfen Pfeilen niedergemäht. Nach Śalyas Sturz verloren jene Krieger—verwundet, gebrochen und führerlos—jede Hoffnung auf den Sieg.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical and psychological truth that when a cause is weakened by adharma and its principal leaders fall, collective morale collapses quickly; power without righteous grounding cannot sustain hope or cohesion in crisis.
Sañjaya reports that after Śalya is slain, the Kaurava forces—already deprived of their leading heroes—are cut down by sharp arrows and become scattered and devastated, losing confidence in any possibility of victory.