Shloka 20
Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)
येन नागेन मघवानजयद्ू दैत्यदानवान् । तदन्वयेन नागेन भीमसेनमुपाद्रवत्,इन्द्रने जिस ऐरावत हाथीके द्वारा दैत्यों और दानवोंपर विजय पायी थी, उसीके वंशमें उत्पन्न हुए गजराजपर आरूढ़ हो भगदत्तने भीमसेनपर चढ़ाई की थी
yena nāgena maghavān ajayad daityadānavān | tad-anvayena nāgena bhīmasenam upādravat ||
Sañjaya said: Mounted upon the lordly elephant born in the very lineage of that Airāvata by whom Indra once conquered the Daityas and Dānavas, Bhagadatta charged straight at Bhīmasena. The scene underscores how, in war, inherited might and famed lineage are invoked to intensify fear and resolve, even as the combatants remain bound to their chosen loyalties and duties on the battlefield.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how power and prestige—especially claims of divine or heroic lineage—are used to frame battlefield action. Ethically, it reflects the epic’s recurring tension: warriors act within their sworn loyalties and roles, while reputation and inherited might become instruments that shape courage, fear, and resolve.
Sañjaya describes Bhagadatta advancing to attack Bhīma while riding a great elephant said to descend from the same line as Indra’s famed Airāvata, the elephant associated with Indra’s victories over the Daityas and Dānavas.