Shloka 373
Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)
पाश्वें दशार्णाधिपतेर्भित्वा नागमपातयत् । प्राग्ज्योतिषनरेशके हाथीने लौटकर और पीछे हटकर दशार्णराजके हाथीके पार्श्वभागमें गहरा आघात किया और उसे विदीर्ण करके मार गिराया
pārśve daśārṇādhipater bhitvā nāgam apātayat | prāgjyotiṣanareśaḥ hastinā nivṛtya paścād apasṛtya daśārṇarājasya hastinaḥ pārśvabhāge gāḍham āghātaṃ kṛtvā taṃ vidīrya mārayām āsa |
Sañjaya said: Striking the elephant of the lord of Daśārṇa upon its flank, he split it and brought it down. The king of Prāgjyotiṣa, having wheeled his own elephant about and then withdrawing to the rear, delivered a heavy blow to the Daśārṇa king’s elephant on its side, tore it open, and killed it—showing the ruthless precision of war, where strategy and force eclipse compassion.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in the Mahābhārata’s war setting, martial skill and tactical maneuvering become decisive; it implicitly invites reflection on the ethical cost of warfare, where even mighty beings like war-elephants are destroyed as instruments of victory.
Sañjaya describes the Prāgjyotiṣa king maneuvering his elephant—turning and withdrawing—then striking the Daśārṇa king’s elephant on the flank with a powerful blow, splitting it and bringing it down dead.