Shloka 266
शल्यस्य पाण्डवसेनापीडनम् — Śalya’s Assault on the Pāṇḍava Host
with Omens and Bhīma’s Counter
रथं विशकलीकर्तु समारब्धौ विशाम्पते । राजन! प्रजानाथ! उन दोनों भाइयोंने झुकी हुई गाँठवाले बाणोंद्वारा नकुलके रथके टुकड़े-टुकड़े करनेकी चेष्टा आरम्भ की
rathaṁ viśakalīkartuṁ samārabdhau viśāmpate | rājan prajānātha |
サンジャヤは言った。「おお民の主よ、王よ、臣民の守護者よ——その二人の兄弟は、節の曲がった（曲節の）矢を放って、ナクラの戦車を粉々に砕こうとし始めた。」この場面は、戦場戦術の冷酷な精密さを示す——戦士の乗り物を無力化することは、その戦闘力と生存そのものへの直撃なのである。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a wartime ethic where strategy often targets an opponent’s means of fighting—here, the chariot—showing how power and skill can be used to incapacitate rather than merely confront. It invites reflection on the moral tension between tactical necessity in dharma-yuddha ideals and the brutal realities of combat.
Sañjaya reports to the king that two brothers have begun an assault aimed at destroying Nakula’s chariot, using specialized bent or crooked-jointed arrows to break it apart and thereby weaken Nakula’s position in the battle.