Shloka 18
Droṇa’s Renewed Advance toward Yudhiṣṭhira; Fall of Satyajit and Allied Recoil (द्रोणस्य युधिष्ठिरप्रेप्सा—सत्यजितः पतनम्)
नीलाञ्जनचयप्रख्यो मदान्धो द्विरदो बभौ
nīlāñjanacayaprakhyo madāndho dvirado babhau
সঞ্জয়ে ক’লে—মদান্ধ সেই দ্বিৰদ নীলাঞ্জনৰ স্তূপৰ দৰে দেখা দিছিল।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse cautions that power driven by intoxication (mada)—whether literal or metaphorical—can blind judgment. In the ethical frame of the Mahābhārata, such loss of viveka (discernment) makes even great strength destructive and morally perilous.
Sañjaya reports a warrior’s terrifying appearance and momentum through a vivid simile: he looks like a mass of black collyrium and moves like a musth-elephant, frenzied and ‘blind’ with rut, conveying unstoppable, dangerous force on the battlefield.