Shloka 6
Bhīmasena’s Kalinga Engagement and the Approach of Bhīṣma (भीमसेन-कालिङ्ग-संग्रामः)
Devanagari script
प्रभिन्नास्तु महाकाया: संनिपत्य गजा गजै:
Transliteration
prabhinnāstu mahākāyāḥ saṃnipatya gajā gajaiḥ
Translation
সঞ্জয়ে ক’লে— মদোন্মত্ত মহাকায় হাতীবোৰ হাতীৰ সৈতে হাতী ধাক্কা খাই মুখামুখি সংঘৰ্ষত লিপ্ত হ’ল।
Word by Word
प्रभिन्नाःsmashed/broken open, rent
प्रभिन्नाः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootप्रभिन्न (√भिद् + प्र, क्त)
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
तुbut/indeed
तु:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootतु
महाकायाःhuge-bodied, massive
महाकायाः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootमहाकाय
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
संनिपत्यhaving rushed together/closing in
संनिपत्य:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootसंनिपत्य (√पत् + सम्-नि, ल्यप्)
गजाःelephants
गजाः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootगज
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
गजैःwith/by elephants
गजैः:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootगज
FormMasculine, Instrumental, Plural
Speaker
संजय उवाच
Characters & Entities
S
SañjayaE
elephants (gaja)Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the raw momentum of war: when power is unleashed without restraint, destruction becomes immediate and mutual. Implicitly, it highlights the ethical weight of kṣatriya warfare—discipline and responsibility must govern force, or it turns into blind collision.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield where massive elephants, driven into a frenzy and urged forward, collide head-on with opposing elephants, intensifying the chaos and brutality of the engagement.