Shloka 15
भीमसेनस्य प्रतिघातः—भगदत्तगजप्रहारः—घटोत्कचमायायुद्धम्
Bhīma’s Counteroffensive, Bhagadatta’s Elephant Assault, and Ghaṭotkaca’s Māyā Engagement
मध्ये सैन्यस्य महतः स्थिता युद्धाय भारत । तत्रैव धर्मराजो5पि गजानीकेन संवृतः
madhye sainyasya mahataḥ sthitā yuddhāya bhārata | tatraiva dharmarājo 'pi gajānīkena saṃvṛtaḥ | bhārata dhṛṣṭaketunā sārdhaṃ cedi-kāśi-karūṣa-pauravādīnāṃ deśānāṃ sainikā api āsan | dhṛṣṭadyumnaḥ śikhaṇḍī ca pāñcālāḥ prabhadrakagaṇāś ca tasya viśālasya sainyasya madhyabhāge yuddhāya samasthitāḥ | gajānīkena parivṛto dharmarājo yudhiṣṭhiraḥ api tatraiva āsīt |
Sañjaya dit : Au cœur même de cette vaste armée, prêts au combat, se tenaient les guerriers du camp des Pāṇḍava. Là se trouvait aussi Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira, protégé et enfermé dans un dispositif d’éléphants. Aux côtés de Dhṛṣṭaketu se tenaient des soldats de Cedi, de Kāśi, de Karūṣa, des Paurava et d’autres royaumes. Dhṛṣṭadyumna, Śikhaṇḍin, les Pāñcāla et les Prabhadraka prirent également position dans le secteur central de la grande armée, prêts à l’affrontement—tandis que Yudhiṣṭhira demeurait là, gardé par le corps des éléphants.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in the violence of war, the narrative highlights dharma through the figure of Yudhiṣṭhira: the righteous king is deliberately protected, suggesting that leadership grounded in ethical restraint is to be preserved amid chaos, and that force (elephant corps, formations) is to be ordered in service of a moral center.
Sañjaya describes the Pāṇḍava-aligned forces positioned in the center of a vast army at Kurukṣetra. Key commanders (Dhṛṣṭadyumna, Śikhaṇḍin) and allied contingents (Cedi, Kāśi, Karūṣa, Pauravas, etc.) stand ready, while Yudhiṣṭhira remains in the middle, surrounded and guarded by an elephant formation.