Shloka 17
कृष्णेन अर्जुनस्य प्रोत्साहनम् — Kṛṣṇa’s Exhortation to Arjuna
Prelude to Karṇa’s Slaying
शरै: कनकपुड्खैश्न चित्रा रेजुर्गजोत्तमा: । उल्काभि: सम्प्रदीप्ताग्रा: पर्वता इव भारत,भरतनन्दन! विचित्र प्रकारसे सजे हुए उत्तम हाथी सुवर्णमय पंखवाले बाणोंके लगनेसे उल्काओंद्वारा उद्दीप्त शिखरोंवाले पर्वतोंके समान शोभा पा रहे थे
śaraiḥ kanakapudkhaiś ca citrā rejur gajottamāḥ | ulkābhiḥ sampradīptāgrāḥ parvatā iva bhārata bharatanandana ||
সঞ্জয়ে ক’লে—হে ভাৰত, হে ভৰতনন্দন! বিচিত্ৰ অলংকাৰৰে সজ্জিত শ্ৰেষ্ঠ গজবোৰ সোনালী পাখিযুক্ত বাণৰ আঘাতে দীপ্ত হৈ উঠিল। সিহঁত উল্কাৰ জ্যোতিয়ে জ্বলি উঠা শিখৰযুক্ত পৰ্বতৰ দৰে শোভা পাইছিল।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse offers no direct moral injunction; its ethical force lies in contrast: the grandeur of poetic imagery highlights the tragic inversion of dharma in war, where majestic elephants become radiant only through wounds, reminding the listener that beauty in battle often masks suffering.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: elephants, decorated and prominent in the armies, are being struck by arrows with golden fletching, and their appearance is compared to mountains whose peaks blaze with meteors.