Shloka 11
Śālva’s Elephant Assault and the Counterstroke (शाल्वस्य नागारूढाभ्यवहारः)
ते रणाद् भरतश्रेष्ठ तावका: प्राद्रवन् दिश: । धावतकश्चाप्यपश्याम श्वसमानान् शराहतान्,भरतश्रेष्ठ] आपके वे सैनिक रणभूमिसे सम्पूर्ण दिशाओंकी ओर भागे थे। हमने देखा, वे बाणोंसे क्षत-विक्षत हो हाँफते हुए दौड़े जा रहे हैं
te raṇād bharataśreṣṭha tāvakāḥ prādravan diśaḥ | dhāvatakāś cāpy apaśyāma śvasamānān śarāhatān ||
Sañjaya said: O best of the Bharatas, your troops fled from the battlefield in every direction. We saw them running—gasping for breath, pierced and torn by arrows.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the human cost of war and the fragility of morale: when fear and injury overwhelm discipline, even large armies break and scatter. Implicitly, it warns that adharma-driven conflict culminates in suffering and collapse rather than lasting victory.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava soldiers are fleeing the battlefield in all directions. He describes them as wounded by arrows and running while gasping, indicating a rout and loss of cohesion in the Kaurava ranks.