Shloka 13
Pāṇḍya-vadha-anantaram Arjunasya Pravṛttiḥ
Arjuna’s Response and the Renewed Battle
तेषां द्विपानां निचकर्त पार्थी वर्माणि चर्माणि करान् नियन्तृन् । ध्वजान् पताकांश्व ततः प्रपेतु- वजाहतानीव गिरे: शिरांसि
teṣāṁ dvipānāṁ nicakarta pārthī varmāṇi carmāṇi karān niyantṝn | dhvajān patākāṁś ca tataḥ prapetuḥ vajrāhatānīva gireḥ śirāṁsi ||
संजय बोले—पार्थ अर्जुन ने उन हाथियों के कवच और चर्म, सूँड़ और महावतों को, तथा उनके ध्वज-पताकाओं को भी तीखे बाणों से काट डाला। तब वे वज्र से टूटे हुए पर्वत-शिखरों की भाँति धरती पर गिर पड़े।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the epic’s battlefield ethic: a kṣatriya hero acts with focused skill to neutralize the enemy’s instruments of war (elephants, drivers, standards). It reflects dharma-yuddha as disciplined, goal-directed combat, even while acknowledging the harsh reality of violence.
Sañjaya narrates that Arjuna systematically disables a group of enemy war-elephants—cutting their protective gear, trunks, and drivers, and bringing down their flags and banners—so that they topple to the ground like mountain summits shattered by a thunderbolt.