Shloka 7
Kṛtavarmā–Sātyaki Chariot Duel and Kaurava Morale Shock (कृतवर्म-सात्यकि-द्वैरथम्)
राजन! जैसे पूर्वकालमें ऐरावतपर बैठकर शत्रु-सेनाका संहार करते हुए वज्रधारी इन्द्रके बाण छोड़ने और विपक्षीको मार गिरानेके अन्तरको दैत्य और देवता नहीं देख पाते थे, उसी प्रकार उस महासमरमें शाल्वके बाण छोड़ने तथा सैनिकोंको यमलोक पहुँचानेमें कितनी देर लगती है, इसे अपने या शत्रुपक्षके योद्धा नहीं देख सके ।।
sañjaya uvāca | rājan! yathā pūrvakāle airāvatopaviṣṭaḥ śatrusenāsaṃhāraṃ kurvan vajradhara indro bāṇān muñcan vipakṣaṃ nipātayan ca yāvat, tatra daityā devāś ca bāṇamokṣa-nipātayor antaraṃ na paśyanti sma; tathā tasmin mahāsamare śālvasya bāṇamokṣaḥ sainikānāṃ ca yamalokaprāpaṇaṃ kati ciram iti svapakṣaparapakṣayodhā na dadṛśuḥ || te pāṇḍavāḥ somakāḥ sṛñjayāś ca taṃ gajarājaṃ samantāt dṛṣṭavantaḥ | sahasraśo vai vicarantam ekaṃ yathā mahendrasya gajaṃ samīpe ||
三阇耶说道：“陛下，正如往昔，执金刚者因陀罗端坐爱罗婆多之上屠灭敌军之时，天神与阿修罗都看不出他放箭与敌人倒下之间的间隙；同样，在那场大决战里，无论我方还是敌方的战士，都无法辨明沙尔瓦放矢并将士卒送往阎摩之界究竟有多么迅疾。般度诸子、苏摩迦人与斯林阇耶人四面都看见那象王；它虽独自在战场近处游走，却在他们眼中仿佛化作千百之数——如同近前所见的大因陀罗之象。”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how overwhelming martial force can collapse the perceived gap between action and consequence: when skill and momentum peak, observers cannot even register the ‘interval’ between a deed and its result. Ethically, it underscores the terrifying immediacy of violence in war—death becomes instantaneous and impersonal, ‘sending to Yama’s realm’ as a stock epic expression.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Śālva’s archery in the great battle was so rapid that neither side could perceive the time between his shooting and the soldiers’ falling. He then describes a battlefield spectacle: an elephant-king moving alone yet appearing as if multiplied into thousands to the Pāṇḍavas and their allies, likened to Indra’s Airāvata.