Shloka 28
Chapter 12: Arjuna’s suppression of the Saṃśaptakas and duel with Aśvatthāmā
Drauṇi
व्यपसृत्य तु नागाभ्यां मण्डलानि विचेरतु: । प्रगृह्ा चोभी धनुषी जध्नतुर्वे परस्परम्,फिर हाथियोंद्वारा ही पीछे हटकर वे दोनों मण्डलाकार विचरने और धनुष लेकर एक- दूसरेपर बाणोंका प्रहार करने लगे तावन्योन्यस्य समरे संछिद्य धनुषी शुभे । हत्वा च सारथी तूर्ण हयांश्ष रथिनां वरी
vyapasṛtya tu nāgābhyāṃ maṇḍalāni viceratuḥ | pragṛhya cobhī dhanuṣī jaghnatur vai parasparam || tāv anyonyasya samare saṃchिद्य dhanuṣī śubhe | hatvā ca sārathī tūṛṇaṃ hayāṃś ca rathināṃ varī ||
Sañjaya said: Drawing back from the elephants, the two warriors began to wheel about in circles. Taking up their bows, they struck at one another with volleys of arrows. In that battle each cut down the other’s splendid bow; and the foremost of chariot-fighters swiftly slew the opponent’s charioteer and horses—an escalation that shows how combat skill, pride, and the drive for victory can push the fight beyond mere exchange of missiles into the dismantling of the enemy’s very means of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how warfare tends to escalate: once direct exchanges begin, combatants aim not only to wound but to disable the opponent’s capacity to fight (breaking bows, killing charioteer and horses). Ethically, it reflects the harsh logic of kṣatriya-battle where victory is pursued through tactical dismantling, raising implicit questions about the cost of glory and the momentum of violence.
Two warriors withdraw from their elephants, circle tactically, and exchange arrow-strikes with bows. Each breaks the other’s bow; then the leading chariot-fighter quickly kills the opponent’s charioteer and horses, crippling the enemy chariot’s effectiveness.