Shloka 22
तत् प्रसक्तमिवात्यर्थ युद्धमासीद् विशाम्पते,प्रजानाथ! तब वहाँ अत्यन्त निकटसे घोर युद्ध आरम्भ हो गया। अर्जुनकुमारने पैने बाणोंद्वारा उस धृष्ट गजसेनाको उसी प्रकार नष्ट कर दिया, जैसे सदागति वायु आकाशमें सैकड़ों मेघखण्डोंको छिन्न-भिन्न कर देती है
tad prasaktam ivātyarthaṃ yuddham āsīd viśāṃpate prajānātha
Sañjaya said: O lord of the people, O ruler among men, the battle then flared up at very close quarters, becoming exceedingly intense. In that press of combat, Arjuna’s son cut down that audacious elephant-corps with sharp arrows—just as the ever-moving wind in the sky tears hundreds of cloud-masses into scattered fragments.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how swiftly concentrated skill and resolve can break even formidable military formations, while also reminding that war’s momentum escalates into extreme, close-quarters violence—an ethical backdrop in the epic where kṣatriya duty is fulfilled amid tragic destruction.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the fighting has become extremely intense at close range, and that Abhimanyu (Arjuna’s son) routs and destroys an elephant contingent with sharp arrows, compared to wind shredding cloud-masses in the sky.