Shloka 11
इन्द्रजिद्-लक्ष्मणयुद्धम्
Indrajit and Lakṣmaṇa: Escalation through Concealment
सहदेवस्तु संयाय रथेन गजयोधिन: । पातयामास नाराचैट्रैमेभ्य इव बर्हिण:,सहदेव रथद्वारा आगे बढ़कर हाथीसवार योद्धाओंसे भिड़ गये और नाराच नामक बाणोंसे मार-मारकर उन्हें इस प्रकार नीचे गिराने लगे, मानो कोई व्याध वृक्षोंपरसे मोरोंको घायल करके गिरा रहा हो
sahadevas tu saṃyāya rathena gajayodhinaḥ | pātayāmāsa nārācais trāmebhya iva barhiṇaḥ ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: Si Sahadeva, sumulong sakay ng karwahe, ay humarap sa mga mandirigmang nakasakay sa elepante. Sa kanyang mga palasong nārāca, paulit-ulit niyang pinabagsak sila, na wari’y mga pabong tinamaan ng palaso ng mangangaso mula sa mga punò—larawang nagpapakita ng bangis ng digmaan at ng malamig na bisa ng husay-mandirigma kapag ang dharma ay pinagtatalunan sa pamamagitan ng sandata.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma in action: when conflict becomes unavoidable, a warrior is expected to act decisively and skillfully. The hunter–peacock simile also invites ethical reflection on how martial prowess can be efficient and unsparing, reminding readers that war reduces living beings to targets even when framed within dharma.
Sahadeva drives his chariot forward to engage elephant-mounted fighters and shoots them down with nārāca arrows, causing them to fall from their mounts. The narrator compares their falling to peacocks dropping from trees when struck by a hunter.