Shloka 573
Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)
सिषिचुर्भरवान् नादान् विनदन्तो जिघांसव: । राजन! युयुत्सु बड़ी उतावलीके साथ रथसे उतरकर दूर चले गये थे। तत्पश्चात् पाण्डव- योद्धा उस गजराजको शीघ्रतापूर्वक मार डालनेकी इच्छासे भैरव-गर्जना करते हुए अपने बाणोंकी वर्षद्वारा उसे सींचने लगे
sañjaya uvāca | siṣicur bharavān nādān vinadanto jighāṃsavaḥ | rājan yuyutsuḥ baḍī utāvalīke sātha rathase utarakara dūra cale gaye the | tatpaścāt pāṇḍava-yoddhā usa gajarājako śīghratāpūrvaka mār ḍālnekī icchāse bhairava-garjanā karate hue apane bāṇoṃkī varṣādvārā use sīṃcane lage |
सञ्जय उवाच—राजन्, युयुत्सुः महतीं त्वरां कृत्वा रथादवतीर्य दूरं जगाम। ततः पाण्डवयोधाः तं गजराजं शीघ्रं हन्तुमिच्छन्तो भैरवनादान् विनदन्तो जिघांसवो बाणवृष्ट्या तमसिञ्चन्॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim ethical tension of dharma in war: combatants act with single-minded intent to neutralize a lethal threat (the war-elephant), while an individual (Yuyutsu) prioritizes immediate survival and repositioning. It reflects how battlefield duty often compresses moral choice into urgent, strategic action.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Yuyutsu hastily dismounts and moves away from his chariot. Then the Pāṇḍava fighters, shouting fearsome cries, concentrate their attack on a powerful elephant, showering it with arrows to kill it quickly.