Shloka 4
तव नृप रथिवर्यास्तान् दशैकं च वीरान् नृवर शरवराग्रैस्ताडयन्तो5 भ्यरुन्धन् । नवजलदसवर्णहस्तिभिस्तानुदीयु- गिरिशिखरनिकाशैर्भीमवेगै: कुलिन्दा:
tava nṛpa rathivaryās tān daśaikaṃ ca vīrān nṛvara śaravarāgrais tāḍayanto ’bhyarundhan | navajaladasavarṇahastibhis tānudīyur giriśikharanikāśair bhīmavegaiḥ kulindāḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai raja, para pahlawan kereta perang tuanku—sebelas wira itu—telah ditahan dan dikepung ketika mereka dihujani anak panah tajam bertubi-tubi. Lalu orang Kulinda menerpa maju dengan pasukan gajah yang gelap seperti awan hujan yang baru, serbuan mereka menggerunkan lajunya, besar berketul seperti puncak gunung—menekan masuk ke medan perang dengan kekuatan yang melimpah.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores a battlefield ethic of disciplined resistance and coordinated assault: elite warriors can be halted by concentrated missile-fire, while massed forces (elephants) can decisively shift momentum. Implicitly, it highlights how power in war depends not only on individual heroism but on collective strategy and timing.
Sañjaya reports to the king that the Kaurava’s leading chariot-fighters—eleven in number—were struck by sharp arrow-showers and thereby checked. Immediately after, the Kulindas advanced in a powerful charge with elephant troops, dark as rain-clouds and massive like mountain peaks, intensifying the pressure in the fight.