Shloka 36
Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)
तिर्यग्यातेन नागेन समदेनाशुगामिना । तत्पश्चात् दशार्णराजने मदस्रावी, शीघ्रगामी तथा तिरछी दिशा (पार्श्चभाग)-की ओरसे आक्रमण करनेवाले गजराजके द्वारा भगदत्तपर धावा किया ।। तयोरयुद्धं समभवन्नागयोर्भीमरूपयो:
tiryagyātena nāgena samadena āśugāminā | tatpaścāt daśārṇarājena madasrāvī śīghragāmī tathā tirachī-diśā (pārśvabhāga)-kī orase ākramaṇa karanevāle gajarājake dvārā bhagadattapara dhāvā kiyā || tayor yuddhaṃ samabhavan nāgayor bhīmarūpayoḥ ||
サンジャヤは言った。「ついでダシャールナの王は、王象を駆ってバガダッタに突進した。その象は疾く走り、ムスト（発情期の狂暴）に酔い、斜めの側面線から襲いかかった。かくして、恐るべき姿の二頭の象の間に、凄烈な戦いが始まった。戦の道義の空気の中で、この句は、純粋な力のみならず、熟達と勢い、そして戦術的な入り方が勝敗を決することを示す—しかしその武勇もまた、戦場の悲劇的必然に縛られている。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that in war, outcomes hinge not only on raw power but also on discipline, speed, and tactical approach (such as an oblique, sideward charge). Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension: extraordinary skill and valor unfold within a grim field of necessary violence, where prowess does not erase the tragedy of conflict.
Sañjaya describes the Daśārṇa king rushing at Bhagadatta using a powerful musth elephant that attacks from a slanting/side direction. The scene culminates in a direct, fearsome clash between the two great elephants.