Shloka 35
Bhīṣma’s Stuti of Keśava and Counsel on Nara–Nārāyaṇa (भीष्म-स्तवः; नरनारायण-प्रसङ्गः)
ततः सांयमनि: क्रुद्धः पार्षत॑ परवीरहा । आजयपघान त्रिभिवणैस्तोत्रैरिव महाद्विपम्,तब शत्रुवीरोंका संहार करनेवाले शलने जैसे महावत किसी महान् गजराजको अंकुशोंसे मारे, उसी प्रकार द्रुपदपुत्र धृष्टद्युम्नको क्रोधपूर्वक तीन बाणोंसे घायल किया
tataḥ sāṃyamaniḥ kruddhaḥ pārṣata paravīrahā | ājau apaghān tribhir bāṇais totrair iva mahādvipam ||
Disse Sañjaya: Então Sāṃyamani, inflamado de ira e matador de heróis inimigos, feriu no campo de batalha o filho de Drupada—Dhṛṣṭadyumna—com três flechas, como um mahout incita um grande elefante com aguilhões afiados.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger in war seeks domination through repeated, controlled force—symbolized by the mahout’s goad. Ethically, it points to the tension between martial duty and the corrosive power of wrath: skill and discipline can be used either to uphold kṣatriya duty or to intensify cruelty when driven by rage.
Sañjaya describes a combat moment where Sāṃyamani, enraged, wounds Dhṛṣṭadyumna (Drupada’s son, called Pārṣata) with three arrows. The action is compared to a mahout prodding a powerful elephant, emphasizing Dhṛṣṭadyumna’s formidable strength and the attacker’s forceful attempt to check him.