Shloka 16
शल्यपर्व — चतुर्विंशोऽध्यायः | Śalya Parva, Chapter 24: Disruption of Kaurava Formations and the Elephant Encirclement
चोदयाश्वानसम्भ्रान्त: प्रविशैतद् बलार्णवम् । अन्तमद्य गमिष्यामि शत्रूणां निशितै: शरै:
coḍayāśvān asambhrāntaḥ praviśaitad balārṇavam | antam adya gamiṣyāmi śatrūṇāṃ niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ |
“ജനാർദനാ! ശാന്തചിത്തത്തോടെ ഈ കുതിരകളെ ഓടിച്ച് ഈ സൈന്യസമുദ്രത്തിലേക്ക് പ്രവേശിക്കൂ. ഇന്ന് ഞാൻ മൂർച്ചയുള്ള അമ്പുകളാൽ ശത്രുക്കൾക്ക് അന്ത്യം വരുത്തും.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the warrior ideal of steadiness under pressure: one should act with composure (asambhrāntaḥ) even amid overwhelming conflict, channeling resolve into one’s chosen duty rather than panic or hesitation.
A warrior addresses Janārdana (Kṛṣṇa), asking him to drive the horses into the thick of the opposing host—described as an ‘ocean of armies’—and vows to finish the enemies with sharp arrows as the war reaches its climactic eighteenth day.