Mahabharata 9.23.61 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 23, Shloka 61
Chapter 23: Śakuni Reports, Kaurava Advance, and Arjuna’s Penetration of the Host
सुसंनिकृष्टे संग्रामे भूयिष्ठे त्यक्तजीविता: । उस समय उस निकटवर्ती महायुद्धमें प्राणोंका मोह छोड़कर जूझनेवाले पाण्डवसेनाके रक्तरंजित घुड़सवार इस प्रकार बोले-- ।।
su-saṃnikṛṣṭe saṅgrāme bhūyiṣṭhe tyakta-jīvitāḥ | na hi śakyaṃ rathair yoddhuṃ kuta eva mahā-gajaiḥ ||
جب جنگ بالکل قریب آ کر نہایت شدید ہو گئی، تو جان کی محبت چھوڑ چکے پانڈو سینا کے خون آلود سوار بول اٹھے— “یہاں رتھوں سے بھی لڑنا ممکن نہیں؛ پھر عظیم ہاتھیوں سے تو کیسے؟”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
In extreme close-quarters combat, ethical resolve (fearlessness and readiness to risk life) must be matched with practical discernment: certain weapons and formations—chariots and elephants—become ineffective or even harmful when the battlefield is too congested.
Sañjaya reports that as the fighting compresses into a tight melee, the combatants observe that the press of battle makes maneuvering impossible; they state that chariots cannot be used effectively, and therefore large elephants are even less workable in that situation.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.