Shloka 20
Adhyāya 17 — गजयुद्ध-वृत्तान्तः, सहदेव-दुःशासन-संघर्षः, नकुल-कर्ण-समागमः
Elephant-battle account; Sahadeva–Duhshasana clash; Nakula–Karna encounter
अथ ड्िपं श्वेतवरा भ्रसंनि भं दिवाकरांशुप्रतिमै: शरोत्तमै: । बिभेद पार्थ: स पपात नादयन् हिमाद्रिकूटं कुलिशाहतं यथा
atha dvi-paṁ śvetavaraṁ bhrasaṁnibhaṁ divākarāṁśu-pratimaiḥ śarottamaiḥ | bibheda pārthaḥ sa papāta nādayan himādri-kūṭaṁ kuliśāhataṁ yathā ||
Sañjaya sprach: Dann durchbohrte Pārtha (Arjuna) jenen vortrefflichen weißen Elefanten—weiß wie eine helle Wolke—mit erlesenen Pfeilen, die wie Sonnenstrahlen loderten. Durchbohrt stürzte er mit donnerndem Dröhnen zu Boden, wie ein Gipfel des Himālaya, den Indras Vajra zerschmettert hat.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the overwhelming momentum of battle: skill and force can bring immediate ruin, and epic poetry frames this human act through cosmic imagery (sun-rays, Indra’s thunderbolt, the Himālaya), reminding the listener that war’s violence is vast in consequence and awe-inspiring in scale.
Sañjaya describes Arjuna striking a great white elephant with brilliant, powerful arrows. The elephant, pierced through, collapses with a tremendous roar, compared to a Himalayan peak felled by Indra’s thunderbolt.