Shloka 83
Śalya-parva Adhyāya 26 — Duryodhana’s remnant formation and rapid engagements
भीमसेनमपाकर्षन् प्रवणादिव कुड्जरम् । उस महासमरमें जब भीमसेन आपके पुत्रोंपर बाणोंका प्रहार करने लगे, तब वे भीमसेनको उसी प्रकार दूरतक खींच ले गये, जैसे शिकारी नीचे स्थानसे हाथीको खींचते हैं
bhīmasenam apākarṣan pravaṇād iva kuñjaram |
Sañjaya said: As Bhīmasena began to strike your sons with his arrows in that great battle, they dragged Bhīmasena away to a distance—just as hunters pull an elephant down from a slope.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a battlefield ethic of tactical necessity: even a mighty warrior can be checked by coordinated effort. It underscores that strength alone does not decide outcomes; strategy and collective action can restrain overwhelming force, though within the grim moral atmosphere of war.
As Bhīma turns his archery against Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons in the great battle, the Kaurava side manages to pull him away from that engagement, compared to hunters dragging an elephant down from a slope.