Shloka 16
Kṛtavarmā–Sātyaki Chariot Duel and Kaurava Morale Shock (कृतवर्म-सात्यकि-द्वैरथम्)
त॑ नागराजं सहसा प्रणुन्नं विद्राव्यमाणं विनिवर्त्य शाल्व: | तोत्राडुकुशै: प्रेषयामास तूर्ण पाञ्चालराजस्य रथं प्रदिश्य
taṁ nāgarājaṁ sahasā praṇunnaṁ vidrāvyamāṇaṁ vinivartya śālvaḥ | totrāḍukuśaiḥ preṣayāmāsa tūrṇaṁ pāñcālarājasya rathaṁ pradiśya ||
三阇耶说道：见那象王骤遭逼迫、痛苦奔逃，沙尔瓦迅速将它扭转回战阵。以刺棒与象钩痛击驱策，他立刻把它赶向般遮罗王的战车方向——以强制与控制推进战局，而非以克制止息。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, mastery often appears as the ability to compel and redirect even a panicked force (here, a war-elephant). Ethically, it implicitly contrasts coercive control with restraint: battlefield success may rely on harsh means, yet such means also reveal the moral cost of violence and domination.
Sañjaya reports that Śālva sees a great elephant fleeing after being suddenly goaded. Śālva turns it back, strikes it with goad and hook, and drives it quickly toward the chariot of the Pāñcāla king, aiming to press an attack on that target.