Shloka 21
अभिमन्योरावरणम्
Encirclement and counter-strikes of Abhimanyu
आवल्रुस्तस्य पन्थानं गजानीकेन दंशिता:
āvalrustasya panthānaṃ gajānīkena daṃśitāḥ
Sañjaya said: They blocked his route, hemming him in with an elephant-corps, as if biting and tearing at his path. The scene shows how, in war, coordinated force can choke off even a valiant warrior’s movement, turning the battlefield into a moral trial where courage must contend with overwhelming, organized violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a recurring Mahābhārata insight: in war, power often operates through coordinated formations that restrict an opponent’s freedom of action. Ethically, it points to how violence can become systemic—an individual’s valor is tested not only by single combat but by organized, collective force.
Sañjaya describes a combat situation where a warrior’s route is obstructed by an elephant division. The imagery of ‘biting’ conveys a fierce, constricting assault that blocks movement and presses the opponent from multiple sides.