Shloka 19
Arjuna Confronted by Saindhava Forces during the Aśvamedha Circuit (श्वेतवाहनस्य सैन्धवसंघर्षः)
स पतन् शुशुभे नागो धनंजयशराहत: । विशन्निव महाशैलो महीं वज्रप्रपीडित:
sa patan śuśubhe nāgo dhanañjayaśarāhataḥ | viśann iva mahāśailo mahīṃ vajraprapīḍitaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: Vom Pfeilhagel Dhanañjayas (Arjunas) getroffen, stürzte der Elefant; doch selbst im Sturz erschien er herrlich—wie ein mächtiger Berg, vom Donnerkeil schwer zermalmt, als wolle er in die Erde einsinken.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the epic ethic of recognizing prowess even in an enemy’s downfall: the fallen elephant is described with grandeur, reminding the listener that war entails immense suffering and that true martial excellence is accompanied by sober awareness of its consequences.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that an elephant, struck by Arjuna’s arrows, collapses. Its fall is compared to a huge mountain crushed by Indra’s thunderbolt, seeming to sink into the earth—an image intensifying the scale and violence of the battlefield.