Shloka 35

Daśame’hani Bhīṣma-yuddham — Śikhaṇḍī-rakṣaṇa, Arjuna-prabhāva, Duryodhana-āśraya-vākyam

Devanagari script

विषाणे दन्तिनं गृह निर्विषाणमथाकरोत्‌

Transliteration

viṣāṇe dantinaṃ gṛhya nirviṣāṇam athākarot |

Translation

Sañjaya said: Seizing the tusk of the elephant, he tore it out and made the beast tuskless. Then, striking the elephant upon its temples with that very tusk, he felled it on the battlefield—like Yama, the wielder of the staff—an image of ruthless martial resolve where strength and ingenuity are turned into lethal means amid the moral darkness of war.

Word by Word

• विषाणे: in/at the two horns (tusks)
• विषाणे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विषाण
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Dual

• दन्तिनम्: the tusked one, elephant
• दन्तिनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दन्तिन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• गृह्य: having seized/taken hold of
• गृह्य: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह्
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage), Prior action (having seized)

• निर्विषाणम्: tuskless, without horns/tusks
• निर्विषाणम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्विषाण
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अथ: then, thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• अकरोत्: made/did
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• elephant (dantin)
• tusk (viṣāṇa)
• elephant’s temples (kumbhasthala)
• Yama (daṇḍadhara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the grim moral atmosphere of war: intelligence and strength can be redirected into destructive ends, and the comparison to Yama highlights the inevitability of death that overtakes even the mighty in battle.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Sañjaya’s report of the fighting, a warrior seizes an elephant’s tusk, rips it out, and then uses that tusk as a weapon to strike the elephant on its temples, killing it and casting it down on the battlefield.