Shloka 32

Adhyāya 195 — Arjuna’s Capability and Restraint Regarding Divyāstras

Udyoga Parva

Devanagari script

क्षरन्त इव जीमूता: प्रभिन्नकरटामुखा: । राजानमन्वयु: पश्चाच्चलन्त इव पर्वता:,भारत! इनके सिवा, युद्धमें महात्मा युधिष्ठिरके पास निजी तौरपर सत्तर हजार हाथी और थे, जो जल बरसानेवाले बादलोंकी भाँति अपने गण्डस्थलसे मदकी धारा बहाते थे। वे सब-के-सब जंगम पर्वतोंकी भाँति राजा युधिष्ठिरका अनुसरण कर रहे थे

Transliteration

kṣaranta iva jīmūtāḥ prabhinnakaraṭāmukhāḥ | rājānam anvayuḥ paścāc calanta iva parvatāḥ |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Hinter dem König zogen sie dahin—Elefanten, deren Schläfen aufgerissen waren und Rauschsaft strömten, wie regenbringende Wolken, die sich ergießen; und in ihrem gleichmäßigen Vorrücken glichen sie Bergen, die in Bewegung gesetzt sind, ihrem Herrn folgend.“

Word by Word

• {'kṣarantaḥ': 'flowing, streaming (esp. liquid pouring out)', 'iva': 'like, as if', 'jīmūtāḥ': 'clouds (rain-bearing masses)', 'prabhinna': 'split open, burst, broken forth', 'karaṭa': 'elephant’s temple (forehead region)', 'mukha': 'face, front

• here ‘temple/forehead area’ as the source of rut', 'rājānam': 'the king (accusative singular)', 'anvayuḥ': 'they followed (perfect/aorist form used narratively)', 'paścāt': 'behind, afterwards', 'calantaḥ': 'moving, advancing', 'parvatāḥ': 'mountains'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• the king (Yudhiṣṭhira, implied by context)
• elephants
• clouds
• mountains

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse primarily conveys epic-scale discipline and ordered loyalty: immense power (the elephant corps) is portrayed as controlled and directed, moving in formation behind rightful leadership—strength becomes meaningful when aligned with command and purpose rather than mere ferocity.

What is happening in the narrative?

As the forces gather for the coming conflict, the narrator describes the king’s following: a great mass of elephants, in rut and streaming ichor, advances behind him. Their movement is likened to rain-clouds pouring water and to mountains that have begun to walk, emphasizing the army’s magnitude and momentum.