Shloka 16
Kṛtavarmā–Sātyaki Chariot Duel and Kaurava Morale Shock (कृतवर्म-सात्यकि-द्वैरथम्)
त॑ नागराजं सहसा प्रणुन्नं विद्राव्यमाणं विनिवर्त्य शाल्व: | तोत्राडुकुशै: प्रेषयामास तूर्ण पाञ्चालराजस्य रथं प्रदिश्य
taṁ nāgarājaṁ sahasā praṇunnaṁ vidrāvyamāṇaṁ vinivartya śālvaḥ | totrāḍukuśaiḥ preṣayāmāsa tūrṇaṁ pāñcālarājasya rathaṁ pradiśya ||
Sañjaya sprach: Als Śālva den Herrscher der Elefanten sah, der plötzlich angetrieben und in Qualen fliehend war, wandte er ihn rasch wieder dem Kampf zu. Mit schmerzhaftem Treibstachel und Haken schlug er ihn und trieb ihn sogleich in Richtung des Streitwagens des Königs der Pāñcālas—den Kampf vorantreibend durch Zwang und Kontrolle statt durch Zurückhaltung.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, mastery often appears as the ability to compel and redirect even a panicked force (here, a war-elephant). Ethically, it implicitly contrasts coercive control with restraint: battlefield success may rely on harsh means, yet such means also reveal the moral cost of violence and domination.
Sañjaya reports that Śālva sees a great elephant fleeing after being suddenly goaded. Śālva turns it back, strikes it with goad and hook, and drives it quickly toward the chariot of the Pāñcāla king, aiming to press an attack on that target.