Shloka 24
भीष्मरथाभिमुख्यं — Arjuna’s advance with Śikhaṇḍin; Duḥśāsana’s interception
दन्तिनश्न नरश्रेष्ठ हीना: परमसादिभि: । मृद्नन्तः स्वान्यनीकानि निपेतु: सर्वशब्दगा:,नरश्रेष्ठ, कितने ही दन्तार हाथी अपने श्रेष्ठ सवारोंसे रहित हो अपनी ही सेनाको कुचलते हुए प्रत्येक शब्दके पीछे दौड़ते थे
dantinaś ca naraśreṣṭha hīnāḥ paramasādibhiḥ | mṛdnantaḥ svāny anīkāni nipetuḥ sarvaśabdagāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “O best of men, many elephants, bereft of their finest riders and goaded into frenzy, began trampling their own formations. Startled by every sound, they rushed about and fell into confusion, spreading panic across the battlefield.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, loss of skilled guidance and the spread of fear can turn strength into self-destruction: powerful forces (elephants) without proper control become a danger to their own side, illustrating the ethical cost and instability inherent in violent conflict.
Sañjaya describes battlefield disorder: elephants whose expert riders have been removed or slain panic at noises, charge unpredictably, trample their own troops, and collapse into confusion, worsening the rout within their own army.