Shloka 12
Adhyāya 8: Saṃprahāra-varṇana and Bhīma–Kṣemadhūrti Dvipa-Yuddha
Combat Description and Elephant Duel
यस्य ज्यातलशब्देन शरवृष्टिरवेण च । रथाश्वनरमातज् नावतिष्ठन्ति संयुगे,जिसकी प्रत्यंचाकी टंकार तथा बाण-वर्षके भयंकर शब्दसे भयभीत हो रथी, घुड़सवार, गजारोही और पैदल सैनिक युद्धमें सामने नहीं ठहर पाते थे
yasya jyātalaśabdena śaravṛṣṭiraveṇa ca | rathāśvanaramātaṅgā na avatiṣṭhanti saṁyuge ||
Vaiśampāyana disse: “Pelo estalo agudo de sua corda de arco e pelo bramido terrível de sua chuva de flechas, cocheiros de carros, cavaleiros, guerreiros montados em elefantes e soldados a pé não conseguiam manter-se firmes na batalha.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how psychological force—fear produced by a warrior’s bow-twang and relentless arrows—can decide battles. Ethically, it points to war’s reality: courage and steadiness (dhairya) are tested not only by weapons but by terror and morale.
Vaiśampāyana describes a formidable warrior whose bowstring’s twang and arrow-storm create such a frightening din that all four arms of the army—chariots, cavalry, elephants, and infantry—fail to hold their ground in the fight.