Shloka 36
Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)
तिर्यग्यातेन नागेन समदेनाशुगामिना । तत्पश्चात् दशार्णराजने मदस्रावी, शीघ्रगामी तथा तिरछी दिशा (पार्श्चभाग)-की ओरसे आक्रमण करनेवाले गजराजके द्वारा भगदत्तपर धावा किया ।। तयोरयुद्धं समभवन्नागयोर्भीमरूपयो:
tiryagyātena nāgena samadena āśugāminā | tatpaścāt daśārṇarājena madasrāvī śīghragāmī tathā tirachī-diśā (pārśvabhāga)-kī orase ākramaṇa karanevāle gajarājake dvārā bhagadattapara dhāvā kiyā || tayor yuddhaṃ samabhavan nāgayor bhīmarūpayoḥ ||
सञ्जय उवाच—ततः स दशार्णराजो भगदत्तं प्रति गजाधिरूढः समदेनाशुगामिना तिर्यग्गामिना नागेनाभ्यद्रवत्। तयोर्नागयोर्भीमरूपयोः सुमहान् युद्धः समभवत्।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that in war, outcomes hinge not only on raw power but also on discipline, speed, and tactical approach (such as an oblique, sideward charge). Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension: extraordinary skill and valor unfold within a grim field of necessary violence, where prowess does not erase the tragedy of conflict.
Sañjaya describes the Daśārṇa king rushing at Bhagadatta using a powerful musth elephant that attacks from a slanting/side direction. The scene culminates in a direct, fearsome clash between the two great elephants.