Shloka 23
अध्याय ९१ — शैनेयस्य गजानीकभेदनं जलसंधवधश्च
Chapter 91: Sātyaki breaks the elephant array and slays Jalasaṃdha
पाणए्डुपुत्र अर्जुन पूर्ण सावधान हो विजय पानेकी चेष्टा करते और शीघ्रतापूर्वक बाण चलाते थे। उस समय उनकी फुर्ती देखकर दूसरे लोगोंको बड़ा आश्वर्य होता था ।। हस्तिनं हस्तियन्तारमश्वमाश्चिकमेव च । अभिनत् फाल्गुनो बाणौ रथिनं च ससारथिम्,अर्जुनने हाथी और महावतको, घोड़े और घुड़सवारको तथा रथी और सारथिको भी अपने बाणोंसे विदीर्ण कर डाला
hastinaṃ hastiyantāram aśvam aśvikam eva ca | abhinat phālguno bāṇai rathinaṃ ca sa-sārathim ||
Sañjaya said: Arjuna (Phālguna), fully alert and intent on victory, shot his arrows with swift precision. With unerring aim he pierced the elephant with its driver, the horse with its rider, and the chariot-warrior with his charioteer—an astonishing display of speed and martial mastery amid the relentless duty of the battlefield.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma in its stark form: disciplined alertness, unwavering focus on the assigned duty of battle, and decisive action. Ethically, it presents the Mahābhārata’s tension between necessary violence in war and the gravity of taking life—showing skill and resolve without celebrating cruelty.
Sañjaya reports Arjuna’s rapid, precise archery on the battlefield: with his arrows he simultaneously strikes down the elephant and its mahout, the horse and its rider, and the chariot-warrior along with the charioteer, astonishing onlookers with his speed.