Shloka 29
Bhīmasena’s Kalinga Engagement and the Approach of Bhīṣma (भीमसेन-कालिङ्ग-संग्रामः)
अभ्चारोहैश्व समरे हस्तिसादिभिरेव च । प्रतिमानेषु गात्रेषु पाश्वेष्वभि च वारणान् | आशुगा विमलास्ती क्ष्णा: सम्पेतुर्भुजगोपमा:
abhyārohāiś ca samare hastisādibhir eva ca | pratimāneṣu gātreṣu pārśveṣv abhi ca vāraṇān | āśugā vimalās tīkṣṇāḥ sampetur bhujagopamāḥ ||
サञ्जयは言った。「その戦では、騎馬の兵と象上の兵が放った矢—疾く、清らかに光り、剃刀のごとく鋭く、蛇のように恐ろしい—が、象の額や他の肢体、そして脇腹を次々と射抜いた。」この光景は、戦の容赦なき仕組みを示す。技と速さは害をなす器となり、巨なる生きものさえ、人の勝利への執念の中で標的となる。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse does not preach directly; it presents the ethical weight of war through vivid detail. Martial excellence (speed, sharpness, precision) becomes morally ambivalent when it results in widespread injury—reminding the listener that victory in battle is inseparable from suffering inflicted on living beings, including animals.
Sañjaya describes intense fighting where swift, sharp arrows launched by mounted troops—horsemen and elephant-riders—strike war-elephants on the forehead, limbs, and flanks, emphasizing the ferocity and momentum of the engagement.