Shloka 203
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)
अश्वाज्जघान समरे भीमसेनस्य सायकै: । शक्रदेवने समरभूमिमें बहुत-से सायकोंकी वर्षा करते हुए उन सायकोंद्वारा भीमसेनके घोड़ोंको मार डाला
aśvāj jaghāna samare bhīmasenasya sāyakaiḥ | śakradevane samarabhūmau bahu-śaḥ sāyakān varṣayan taiḥ sāyakair bhīmasenasya aśvān jaghāna |
Sañjaya berkata: Di tengah pertempuran, sambil menghujani dengan banyak anak panah, Śakradeva menewaskan kuda-kuda Bhīmasena dengan panah-panah itu. Peristiwa ini menonjolkan ketepatan perang yang kejam: melumpuhkan gerak lawan menjadi taktik yang menentukan—walau suram—tatkala batas etika biasa runtuh di medan tempur.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a harsh battlefield ethic: victory often turns on tactical choices like crippling an enemy’s chariot by killing its horses. It reflects how, in war, strategic necessity can override gentler moral instincts, even while remaining within the broader frame of kṣatriya conduct.
Sañjaya reports that, amid intense fighting, an unnamed warrior (described through an Indra-like simile) rains arrows and kills Bhīma’s horses, effectively disabling Bhīmasena’s chariot and shifting the immediate advantage in the encounter.