Shloka 27
Kṛtavarmā–Sātyaki Chariot Duel and Kaurava Morale Shock (कृतवर्म-सात्यकि-द्वैरथम्)
ह्वतोत्तमाज़ी युधि सात्वतेन पपात भूमौ सह नागराज्ञा । यथाद्रिशृज्ूं सुमहत् प्रणुन्नं वज्नेण देवाधिपचोदितेन,रणभूमिमें सात्यकिद्वारा मस्तक कट जानेपर शाल्वराज भी उस गजराजके साथ ही धराशायी हो गया, मानो देवराज इन्द्रके चलाये हुए वज़से कटकर कोई विशाल पर्वतशिखर पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़ा हो
hato 'ttamāśī yudhi sātvatena papāta bhūmau saha nāgarājñā | yathādriśṛṅgaṃ sumahat praṇunnaṃ vajreṇa devādhipa-coditena ||
Sañjaya said: “When his head was cut off in battle by Sātvata (Sātyaki), Śālva, together with that lordly elephant, fell to the earth—like a massive mountain-peak struck down by the thunderbolt hurled by the king of the gods.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a divine simile to show how swiftly power and arrogance can collapse when met by superior valor aligned with kṣatriya duty; it frames battlefield outcomes as decisive and overwhelming, like Indra’s thunderbolt.
Sātyaki strikes down Śālva in combat, severing his head; Śālva falls to the ground along with his great elephant, compared to a huge mountain-peak felled by Indra’s vajra.