Shloka 32
कर्णस्य दानप्रतिज्ञा–शल्योपदेश–वाक्ययुद्धम्
Karna’s Gift-Vows, Shalya’s Counsel, and the Battle of Words
निगृहा च गजा: केचित् पार्श्रस्थैर्भशदारुणै: । रथाश्व॒सादिभिस्तत्र सम्भिन्ना न्यपतन् भुवि,कितने ही हाथियोंको अवरुद्ध करके पार्श्चभागमें खड़े हुए अत्यन्त भयंकर रथी और घुड़सवार उन्हें बाणोंसे विदीर्ण कर डालते, जिससे वे हाथी वहीं पृथ्वीपर गिर जाते थे
nigṛhya ca gajāḥ kecit pārśvasthaiḥ bhayadāruṇaiḥ | rathāśvasādibhis tatra sambhinnā nyapatan bhuvi ||
Sañjaya berkata: Sebahagian gajah, setelah disekat dan dikepung, kemudian ditembusi oleh para pahlawan kereta perang dan penunggang kuda yang amat menggerunkan yang berada di sisi-sisi mereka. Dikoyak oleh hujan anak panah, gajah-gajah itu rebah di situ juga ke bumi.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how, in war, even the mightiest force (war-elephants) can be rendered helpless through coordinated restraint and flank assault; it implicitly warns that power without protection, strategy, and discipline becomes vulnerable to organized violence.
Sañjaya reports a battlefield scene where elephants are first blocked/contained, then attacked from the sides by fearsome chariot-fighters and horsemen who shower them with arrows until the elephants, grievously wounded, fall to the ground.