Shloka 11
शल्यपर्व — चतुर्विंशोऽध्यायः | Śalya Parva, Chapter 24: Disruption of Kaurava Formations and the Elephant Encirclement
हते तस्मिन् रथानीके पाण्डवेनाभिपालिते | गजानेतान् हनिष्याम: पदातींश्वेतरांस्तथा,'पाण्डुपुत्र युधिष्ठिरके द्वारा सुरक्षित इस रथ-सेनाका संहार हो जानेपर हम इन हाथीसवारों, पैदलों और घुड़सवारोंका भी वध कर डालेंगे”
hate tasmin rathānīke pāṇḍavenābhipālite | gajān etān haniṣyāmaḥ padātīñ śvetarāṃs tathā ||
हते तस्मिन् रथानीके पाण्डवेनाभिपालिते । गजानेतान् हनिष्यामः पदातींश्चेतरांस्तथा ॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the war-minded calculus of sequential destruction—first breaking a protected chariot formation, then moving to other arms (elephants and infantry). Ethically, it reflects the grim momentum of kṣatriya warfare where tactical objectives can eclipse compassion, underscoring the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between duty in battle and the human cost of violence.
Sañjaya reports a battlefield intention: after the annihilation of a chariot-corps that is under the Pāṇḍava’s protection, the speakers’ side plans to proceed to kill the elephant troops and the foot-soldiers (and the remaining forces). It is a tactical forecast within the Kurukṣetra war narration.