Shloka 303
Śalya–Bhīma Gadā-saṃnipāta and Śalya’s Bāṇa-jāla against Yudhiṣṭhira
Book 9, Chapter 11
अवारयच्छरैस्ती4॥णैर्महाद्विपमिवाड्कुशै: । तब क्रोधमें भरे हुए राजा युधिष्ठिरने पैदलों और घुड़सवारोंके साथ आते हुए शल्यको अपने तीखे बाणोंसे उसी प्रकार रोक दिया, जैसे महावत अंकुशोंकी मारसे विशालकाय हाथीको आगे बढ़नेसे रोक देता है
sañjaya uvāca | avārayac charais tīkṣṇair mahādvipam ivāṅkuśaiḥ |
Sanjaya said: Filled with wrath, King Yudhiṣṭhira checked Śalya as he advanced with foot-soldiers and horsemen, stopping him with sharp arrows—just as a mahout restrains a massive elephant from charging forward by striking it with the goad. The image underscores disciplined control amid battlefield fury: force is met not with blind rage, but with measured restraint and skill.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in anger and violence, effective leadership requires restraint and disciplined action. The simile of the mahout and elephant highlights controlled power—checking a dangerous advance through skill rather than uncontrolled fury.
Śalya advances in battle supported by infantry and cavalry. Yudhiṣṭhira, enraged, halts his advance by showering sharp arrows, likened to a mahout stopping a huge elephant with a goad.