Shloka 16
Kṛtavarmā–Sātyaki Chariot Duel and Kaurava Morale Shock (कृतवर्म-सात्यकि-द्वैरथम्)
त॑ नागराजं सहसा प्रणुन्नं विद्राव्यमाणं विनिवर्त्य शाल्व: | तोत्राडुकुशै: प्रेषयामास तूर्ण पाञ्चालराजस्य रथं प्रदिश्य,उस नागराजको सहसा पीड़ित होकर भागते देख शाल्वराजने पुनः युद्धकी ओर लौटाया और पीड़ा देनेवाले अंकुशोंसे मारकर उसे तुरंत ही पांचालराजके रथकी ओर दौड़ाया
taṁ nāgarājaṁ sahasā praṇunnaṁ vidrāvyamāṇaṁ vinivartya śālvaḥ | totrāḍukuśaiḥ preṣayāmāsa tūrṇaṁ pāñcālarājasya rathaṁ pradiśya ||
サञ्जयは語った。象王がにわかに責め立てられ、苦しみつつ逃げるのを見て、シャールヴァは素早くそれを戦へ引き返させた。痛みを与える追い棒と象鉤で打ち、ただちにパーンチャーラ王の戦車の方角へと駆り立てたのである――抑制ではなく、力と支配によって戦を押し進めたのだ。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, mastery often appears as the ability to compel and redirect even a panicked force (here, a war-elephant). Ethically, it implicitly contrasts coercive control with restraint: battlefield success may rely on harsh means, yet such means also reveal the moral cost of violence and domination.
Sañjaya reports that Śālva sees a great elephant fleeing after being suddenly goaded. Śālva turns it back, strikes it with goad and hook, and drives it quickly toward the chariot of the Pāñcāla king, aiming to press an attack on that target.