Shloka 5
Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)
स युद्धकुशल: पार्थो बाहुवीर्येण चान्वित: । अभिनत् कुञ्जरानीकमचिरेणैव मारिष,आदरणीय नरेश! कुन्तीकुमार भीमसेन युद्धमें कुशल तथा बाहुबलसे सम्पन्न हैं। उन्होंने थोड़ी ही देरमें हाथियोंकी उस सेनाको विदीर्ण कर डाला
sa yuddha-kuśalaḥ pārtho bāhu-vīryeṇa cānvitaḥ | abhinat kuñjarānīkam acireṇaiva māriṣa ||
Wahai raja yang mulia! Sang Pārtha, mahir dalam perang dan dianugerahi kekuatan serta keberanian lengan, dengan cepat meremukkan korps gajah itu.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that in righteous warfare (as conceived in the epic), disciplined skill (yuddha-kuśalatā) joined with personal strength (bāhu-vīrya) determines effectiveness; yet it implicitly sits within the Mahābhārata’s larger ethical tension where even justified violence carries grave moral consequence.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Pāṇḍava hero (here identified as Pārtha in the sense of Kuntī’s son, i.e., Bhīma in this reading) rapidly breaks through and disperses an enemy elephant-division.