Shloka 51
Droṇa’s Renewed Advance toward Yudhiṣṭhira; Fall of Satyajit and Allied Recoil (द्रोणस्य युधिष्ठिरप्रेप्सा—सत्यजितः पतनम्)
गजस्थाश्न महामात्रा निर्भिन्नहृदया रणे । रथिश्रि: पातिता भल्लैविंकीर्णाड्कुशतोमरा:,उस रणक्षेत्रमें कितने ही रथियोंने अपने भल्लोंद्वारा हाथीपर बैठे हुए महावतोंकी छाती छेदकर उन्हें सहसा मार गिराया। उन महावतोंके अंकुश और तोमर इधर-उधर बिखर गये थे
sañjaya uvāca | gajasthāś ca mahāmātrā nirbhinnahṛdayā raṇe | rathiśriyaḥ pātitā bhallair vikiṇṇāṅkuśatomarāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: In the thick of battle, many mahouts seated upon elephants had their chests pierced; struck down by the sharp bhalla arrows of the chariot-warriors, they fell at once. Their elephant-goads and tomara spears lay scattered across the field.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the harsh reality of war: even those who command powerful war-elephants are vulnerable to precise martial skill. It implicitly cautions that battlefield glory is transient and that violence, once unleashed, spares neither rank nor role—highlighting the ethical weight and tragic cost inherent in kṣatriya warfare.
Sañjaya describes chariot-warriors shooting bhalla arrows that pierce and kill elephant-mounted mahouts/commanders. As they fall, their control-tools and weapons—ankushas and tomaras—drop and scatter across the battlefield, signaling disorder among the elephant units.