Shloka 64
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)
स जघान पदा कांद्रिद् व्याक्षिप्पान्यानपोथयत्
sa jaghāna padā kān cid vyākṣipya anyān apothayat | anyān asiṇā ciccheda anyān ghoraravena trāsayat anyān mahāvegāt pṛthivyāṃ nipātayām āsa ||
Sañjaya said: He crushed some warriors to death beneath his feet; others he hurled up and dashed down; others he cut down with his sword. Some he terrified by his dreadful roar, and others he flung to the earth with his tremendous momentum—an image of unchecked martial force sweeping through the battlefield.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is primarily descriptive rather than didactic: it highlights how overwhelming force in war produces death and fear on many fronts—by physical might, weapons, and psychological terror—inviting reflection on the destructive momentum of battle and the human cost implicit in such displays of power.
Sañjaya reports a combatant’s rampage on the battlefield: he kills some by trampling, throws and smashes others, cuts down some with a sword, terrifies others with a fearsome roar, and hurls more to the ground through sheer speed and strength.