Shloka 333
Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)
गजेन पाण्डुपञ्चालान् व्यधमत् पर्वतेश्वर: । पर्वतराज भगदत्तने उन बाणोंके प्रहारका अंकुशद्वारा निवारण किया और हाथीको आगे बढ़ाकर पाण्डव तथा पांचाल योद्धाओंको कुचल डाला
gajena pāṇḍu-pañcālān vyadhamat parvateśvaraḥ |
Sañjaya berkata: “Berkuda gajah, Bhagadatta—penguasa kerajaan pergunungan—menghancurkan para pahlawan Pāṇḍava dan Pāñcāla. Dengan cangkuk gajahnya (ankusha) dia menangkis hentaman anak panah, lalu menghalau gajah itu mara ke hadapan dan memijak remuk barisan lawan.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh reality of kṣatriya warfare: skill and resolve can make a single warrior’s momentum—here, an elephant charge—overwhelm many. Ethically, it underscores how battlefield duty often operates within a framework where force and tactical advantage dominate, raising the tension between dharma as duty and the human cost of violence.
Sañjaya describes Bhagadatta advancing on an elephant against the Pāṇḍava–Pañcāla forces. He wards off arrow-strikes with his elephant-goad and then drives the elephant forward, trampling and crushing the opposing warriors.