Shloka 6
अर्जुनस्य प्रतिघातः — श्रुताय्वच्युतायुवधः तथा गजसैन्यविदारणम्
Arjuna’s Counterstroke: Slaying of Śrutāyu and Acyutāyu; Breaking the Elephant Corps
बलिन: सूमरान् खड्गान् नानासत्त्वानि चाप्युत । कृच्छुप्राणं वने बद्ध्वा दमयित्वाप्पवासृजत्,बलवान सामरों, गेंड़ों तथा अन्य नाना प्रकारके हिंसक जन्तुओंको वे वनमें बाँध लेते और उनका दमन करते-करते उन्हें अधमरा करके छोड़ते थे
balinaḥ śūmarān khaḍgān nānāsattvāni cāpy uta | kṛcchuprāṇaṃ vane baddhvā damayitvāppa vāsṛjat ||
Nārada said: “Those powerful men would capture fierce creatures—śūmara-beasts, rhinoceroses, and many other kinds of wild animals. Binding them in the forest, they would subdue them again and again, and then, leaving them barely alive, would let them go.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights adharma expressed as cruelty and the misuse of strength: power is shown not by tormenting the helpless but by restraint and compassion. It implicitly condemns violence done for domination or sport rather than necessity and righteousness.
Nārada describes the conduct of powerful men who capture dangerous wild animals in the forest, bind them, repeatedly subdue them, and then release them in a half-dead state—portraying a pattern of harsh domination.