Shloka 37
Chapter 12: Arjuna’s suppression of the Saṃśaptakas and duel with Aśvatthāmā
Drauṇi
स शरीघार्दितो नागो भीमसेनेन संयुगे | गृहरमाणो5पि नातिष्ठद् वातोद्धूत इवाम्बुद:,युद्धस्थलमें भीमसेनके बाणसमूहोंसे पीड़ित हुआ वह गजराज हवाके उड़ाये हुए बादलोंके समान रोकनेपर भी वहाँ रुक न सका ततोअन्यं रथमास्थाय विधिवत्कल्पितं पुनः । केकयानां महत् सैन्यं व्यधमत् सात्यकि: शरै: तत्पश्चात् विधिपूर्वक सजाकर लाये हुए दूसरे रथपर आरूढ़ हो सात्यकि अपने बाणोंद्वारा केकयोंकी विशाल सेनाका संहार करने लगे
sa śarīghārdito nāgo bhīmasenena saṁyuge | gṛhīyamāṇo 'pi nātiṣṭhad vāto'ddhūta ivāmbudaḥ || tato 'nyaṁ ratham āsthāya vidhivat kalpitaṁ punaḥ | kekayānāṁ mahat sainyaṁ vyadhamat sātyakiḥ śaraiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: In the thick of battle, the lordly elephant—pierced and tormented by Bhīmasena’s volleys—could not be held back; though restrained, it would not stand its ground, like a cloud driven onward by the wind. Then Sātyaki, mounting another chariot newly prepared according to proper martial procedure, began to cut down the great host of the Kekayas with his arrows. The passage underscores how, amid the moral chaos of war, discipline and readiness (vidhi) are still treated as binding duties, even as brute force and panic can sweep away control.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in war’s disorder, the text highlights two contrasting truths: uncontrolled momentum (the elephant swept like a wind-driven cloud) and the insistence on disciplined action (Sātyaki remounts a properly prepared chariot). It suggests that duty and procedure are upheld as ethical anchors amid violence.
Bhīma’s arrow volleys panic and drive an elephant-lord so that it cannot be restrained. Immediately after, Sātyaki mounts a newly readied chariot and begins routing the large Kekaya force with his arrows.