Shloka 29
Bhīmasena’s Kalinga Engagement and the Approach of Bhīṣma (भीमसेन-कालिङ्ग-संग्रामः)
अभ्चारोहैश्व समरे हस्तिसादिभिरेव च । प्रतिमानेषु गात्रेषु पाश्वेष्वभि च वारणान् | आशुगा विमलास्ती क्ष्णा: सम्पेतुर्भुजगोपमा:,युद्धमें घुड़लवारों और गजारोहियोंके चलाये हुए निर्मल, तीक्ष्ण तथा सर्पोके समान भयंकर शीघ्रगामी बाण हाथियोंके ललाटों, अन्यान्य अंगों तथा पसलियोंपर चोट करते थे
abhyārohāiś ca samare hastisādibhir eva ca | pratimāneṣu gātreṣu pārśveṣv abhi ca vāraṇān | āśugā vimalās tīkṣṇāḥ sampetur bhujagopamāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: In that battle, arrows—swift, spotless, razor-sharp, and dreadful like serpents—shot by horsemen and by those mounted on elephants, struck the elephants on their foreheads, on other limbs, and along their flanks. The scene reveals the relentless mechanics of war: skill and speed are turned into instruments of harm, and even mighty creatures become targets amid the human pursuit of victory.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse does not preach directly; it presents the ethical weight of war through vivid detail. Martial excellence (speed, sharpness, precision) becomes morally ambivalent when it results in widespread injury—reminding the listener that victory in battle is inseparable from suffering inflicted on living beings, including animals.
Sañjaya describes intense fighting where swift, sharp arrows launched by mounted troops—horsemen and elephant-riders—strike war-elephants on the forehead, limbs, and flanks, emphasizing the ferocity and momentum of the engagement.