Shloka 39
Chapter 12: Arjuna’s suppression of the Saṃśaptakas and duel with Aśvatthāmā
Drauṇi
संनिवार्यात्मनो नागं क्षेमधूर्ति: प्रतापवान् विव्याधाभिद्रुतं बाणैरभीमसेनस्यथ कुज्जरम्,उस समय प्रतापी क्षेमधूर्तिने अपने हाथीको किसी प्रकार रोककर सामने आते हुए भीमसेनके हाथीको बाणोंसे बींध डाला
sannivāryātmano nāgaṃ kṣemadhūrtiḥ pratāpavān | vivyādhābhidrutaṃ bāṇair bhīmasenasya atha kuñjaram ||
Sañjaya said: The valiant Kṣemadhūrti, somehow restraining his own elephant, pierced with arrows the elephant of Bhīmasena as it charged forward. The scene underscores the battlefield ethic of controlled skill—mastery over one’s mount and senses—directed toward decisive action amid the fury of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in violent conflict, the text highlights disciplined agency: Kṣemadhūrti first restrains his own elephant (self-mastery and control of instruments) and then acts with focused martial effectiveness. The implied ethic is that power in war is meant to be governed by restraint and skill, not mere frenzy.
Sañjaya reports that Kṣemadhūrti, after checking his own elephant, shoots arrows at the onrushing elephant of Bhīmasena, wounding it—an episode within the larger elephant-and-chariot engagements of the Karṇa Parva battle.