Shloka 383
Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)
जघान द्विरदस्थं त॑ शत्रु प्रचलितासनम् । तत्पश्चात् राजा भगदत्तने सूर्यकी किरणोंके समान चमकीले सात तोमरोंद्वारा हाथीपर बैठे हुए शत्रु दशार्णगजको, जिसका आसन विचलित हो गया था, मार डाला
jaghāna dviradasthaṃ taṃ śatruṃ pracalitāsanam | tatpaścāt rājā bhagadattena sūryakī kiraṇoṃ ke samāna camakīle sāta tomarondvārā hāthīpar baiṭhe hue śatru daśārṇagajaṃ, yasyāsanaṃ vicalitaṃ abhavat, mārayām āsa |
サञ्जयは言った――象上に座し、その座が揺らいで定まらぬ敵を、彼は打ち倒した。ついでバガダッタ王は、太陽の光線のごとく眩く閃く七本の投槍をもって、象に乗る敵――ダシャールナガジャ――を、その体勢がすでに崩れていたところを討ち取った。この段は、戦場の義務の容赦なき理を示す。ひとたび武者が座を失い脆くなれば、対する王はためらいなく利を押し広げ、武人のダルマを遂げるのである。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the severe, duty-bound nature of kṣatriya conduct in war: once an opponent is destabilized, a warrior-king is expected to act decisively. It reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between dharma as obligation (battlefield duty) and the moral weight of violence.
Sañjaya reports that an enemy seated on an elephant has his seat shaken; immediately afterward, King Bhagadatta hurls seven sun-bright javelins and kills the elephant-mounted foe identified as Daśārṇagaja.