Shloka 6
उपायैः पूर्ववधकथनम् / Strategic Justifications for Prior Eliminations
मैं तो समझता हूँ शत्रुओंको बहुत देरतक बिना मौसमके ही सर्दी लगने लगी होगी। जैसे शिशिर-ऋतुमें गायें सर्दीके मारे काँपने लगती हैं, उसी तरह वे शत्रु-सैनिक भी आचार्यके भयसे थर-थर काँपने लगे होंगे ।। यत्प्राविशन्महेष्वास: पठचालानपराजित: । नृत्यन् स रथमार्गेषु सर्वशस्त्रभूृतां वर:
sañjaya uvāca | yat prāviśan maheṣvāsaḥ paṭacālān aparājitaḥ | nṛtyan sa ratha-mārgeṣu sarva-śastra-bhṛtāṃ varaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “I think the enemies were seized for long by an unseasonable cold. As cows shiver in the winter, so too did those hostile soldiers tremble in fear of the preceptor. When that unconquered great archer entered the Paṭacāla ranks, moving as if dancing along the chariot-lanes, he—foremost among all who bear weapons—made the enemy host quake with dread.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how battlefield outcomes depend not only on weapons but also on morale: the entry of an undefeated master-archer can ethically and psychologically dominate opponents, showing the power of reputation, discipline, and fearless presence within kṣatriya conduct.
Sañjaya describes an unconquered great archer advancing into the enemy formation, moving ‘as if dancing’ along the chariot lanes—an image of confident, almost taunting momentum—causing the opposing soldiers to quake in fear.