Shloka 9
Arjuna Confronted by Saindhava Forces during the Aśvamedha Circuit (श्वेतवाहनस्य सैन्धवसंघर्षः)
स नृत्यत्रिव नागेन्द्रो वज्दत्तप्रचोदितः । आससाद द्रुतं राजन् कौरवाणां महारथम्,राजन! वज्रदत्तका हाँका हुआ वह गजराज नृत्य-सा करता हुआ तुरंत कौरव महारथी अर्जुनके पास जा पहुँचा
sa nṛtyatriva nāgendro vajradatta-pracoditaḥ | āsasāda drutaṃ rājan kauravāṇāṃ mahāratham ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Urged on by Vajradatta, that lord of elephants, moving as though in a dance, swiftly charged forth, O King, and came upon the great chariot-warrior of the Kauravas. The scene underscores how a powerful creature, driven by another’s command, becomes an instrument in the clash of warriors—raising an ethical contrast between agency and compulsion in the midst of battle.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how immense power can be redirected by external prompting: the elephant’s strength is not self-directed but driven by Vajradatta. Ethically, it points to the difference between acting from one’s own discernment and being used as an instrument—an important contrast in war narratives where responsibility and intention matter.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that a mighty elephant, urged on by Vajradatta, advances rapidly with dance-like motion and closes in to attack a prominent Kaurava chariot-warrior.