Shloka 25
Bhagadattā’s Deployment Against Ghaṭotkaca; Elephant-Corps Escalation
स शर: पण्डितं हत्वा विवेश धरणीतलम् | यथा नरं निहत्याशु भुजग: कालचोदित:,जैसे कालप्रेरित सर्प किसी मनुष्यको शीघ्र ही डँँसकर लापता हो जाता है, उसी प्रकार वह बाण पण्डितककी हत्या करके धरतीमें समा गया
sa śaraḥ paṇḍitaṃ hatvā viveśa dharaṇītalam | yathā naraṃ nihatya āśu bhujagaḥ kālacoditaḥ ||
三阇耶说道：那支箭杀死般ḍ提多后，便没入地表之中。正如受“时”（命运）驱使的毒蛇，迅疾噬人而后遁去；那支箭亦然——诛杀般ḍ提多之后，便消失于土中，令人感到战死之事皆受冷酷的必然所支配。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring vision of kāla (Time/fate) as an overpowering force in war: death can arrive swiftly and vanish without trace, like a serpent’s strike. It invites reflection on the fragility of life and the inexorable momentum of battle once unleashed.
Sañjaya narrates that an arrow kills a warrior named Paṇḍita and then embeds itself into the earth. The event is illustrated through a simile: a serpent, driven by fate, quickly kills a man and disappears—emphasizing suddenness and inevitability.