Shloka 13
भीष्मस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति उपालम्भः
Bhīṣma’s Reproof to Duryodhana
गजानीकं च सम्प्रेक्ष् मेघवृन्दमिवोदितम्
gajānikaṃ ca samprekṣya meghavṛndam ivoditam
Sañjaya sprach: „Als ich das dicht geschlossene Elefantenheer erblickte, erhob es sich wie eine eben erst zusammengezogene Wolkenbank—ein unheilvoll anschwellender Anblick auf dem Schlachtfeld, wo Macht und Stolz sich sammeln vor der Prüfung des Dharma.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how martial might can appear vast and overwhelming, yet it is ultimately only a spectacle within the larger moral trial of war; outward power (the elephant host) does not by itself determine righteousness (dharma) or rightful outcome.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, comparing the assembled elephant division to a rising mass of clouds, conveying the scale, density, and foreboding grandeur of the forces as the conflict intensifies.