Shloka 6
बाहू धरण्यां निष्पिष्य सुदुर्मत्त इव द्विप: । प्रकीर्णान् मूर्थजान् धुन्वन् दन्तैर्दन्तानुपस्पृशन्
bāhū dharaṇyāṁ niṣpiṣya sudurmatta iva dvipaḥ | prakīrṇān mūrthajān dhunvan dantair dantān upaspṛśan
Sañjaya sprach: „Er presste seine Arme in die Erde wie ein rasend gewordener Elefant, schüttelte sein zerzaustes Haar und knirschte mit den Zähnen—ein äußerer Sturm aus Gram und Zorn, der zeigt, wie der Krieg selbst die Mächtigen in hilflose, sich selbst verzehrende Qual treibt.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the psychological devastation of war: even powerful warriors can be reduced to uncontrolled, self-harming expressions of grief and rage. Ethically, it points to the inner cost of adharma-driven conflict—violence rebounds as suffering within the victor and the vanquished alike.
Sañjaya describes a warrior (implied from context) overwhelmed by emotion on the battlefield: he throws himself down, presses his arms into the ground, shakes his disordered hair, and grinds his teeth—likened to a frenzied elephant.