Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)
शिने: पौत्रस्य तु रथं परिगृहा महाद्विप:
śineḥ pautrasya tu rathaṃ parigṛhya mahādvipaḥ
サञ्जयは語った。その猛き大象は、シニの孫の戦車を掴むや、さらに迫ってこれを圧した――乱戦のただ中で、一人の武者に圧倒的な力がのしかかる光景であり、勇気が剛力と対峙して試される場面であった。
संजय उवाच
The verse highlights a battlefield ethic: courage and steadiness are tested when a warrior faces disproportionate, crushing power. It underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring theme that dharma in war includes endurance and composure amid sudden, life-threatening reversals.
Sañjaya describes a war-elephant (mahādvipa) moving in and physically seizing or hemming in the chariot belonging to Śini’s grandson, signaling an imminent danger and a dramatic escalation in that combat encounter.