Shloka 25
भीमसेनस्य कौरवसुतवधः तथा श्रुतर्वावधः
Slaying of Kaurava princes and the fall of Śrutarvā
ततो रथेषु भग्नेषु त्रिसाहस््रा महाद्विपा: । पाण्डवान् रथिन: सर्वान् समन्तात् पर्यवारयन्,वे धृष्टद्यम्मका सामना करना छोड़कर जहाँ शकुनि था, वहाँ चले गये। वर्तमान नरसंहारमें राजा दुर्योधनको न देखनेके कारण वे उद्विग्न हो उठे थे ।। इति श्रीमहा भारते शल्यपर्वणि दुर्योधनापयाने पठचरविंशो5ध्याय:
tato ratheṣu bhagneṣu trisāhasrā mahādvipāḥ | pāṇḍavān rathinaḥ sarvān samantāt paryavārayan |
Sanjaya said: Then, when the chariots had been shattered, three thousand great war-elephants surrounded all the Pandava chariot-warriors on every side. The scene lays bare the brutal mechanics of battle: when mobility and protection—the chariot—fail, massed force closes in to isolate and overwhelm even the foremost fighters, turning the field into a tightening ring of violence rather than a contest of single champions.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how quickly the fortunes of war shift when key supports collapse: once chariots are destroyed, even elite warriors become vulnerable to encirclement. Ethically, it points to the dehumanizing momentum of mass warfare, where tactical advantage can eclipse ideals of fair combat.
After chariots are broken in the fighting, a large force of war-elephants—three thousand—moves in and surrounds the Pandava chariot-warriors from all directions, attempting to trap and crush them through encirclement.