Shloka 31
Adhyāya 92: Irāvanta-śoka, punaḥ-pravṛttiḥ saṅgrāmasya
Arjuna’s grief and the battle’s renewed intensity
छिन्नहस्ता महानागाश्शकछिन्नगात्राश्ष मारिष । क्रौज्चवद् व्यनदन् भीता: पृथिवीमधिशेरते,आर्य! सूँड़ तथा दूसरे-दूसरे अंगोंके कट जानेसे हाथी भयभीत हो क्रौंच पक्षीकी भाँति चीत्कार करते और धराशायी हो जाते थे
chinnahastā mahānāgāḥ śakacchinnagātrāś ca māriṣa | krauñcavad vyanadan bhītāḥ pṛthivīm adhiśerate ||
Sañjaya said: “O venerable sir, the great elephants—some with their ‘hands’ (trunks/forelimbs) severed and others with their limbs cut by the blows of weapons—cried out in terror like krauñca birds and collapsed upon the earth. The scene shows the pitiless momentum of battle, where even the mightiest creatures are reduced to suffering, underscoring the grave moral weight of violence and the tragic cost of war.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the immense suffering produced by war: even powerful beings like elephants are terrified and broken. It implicitly invites reflection on the ethical gravity of violence and the human responsibility to weigh dharma against the catastrophic costs of conflict.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield where elephants, mutilated by weapon strikes and with limbs severed, cry out like krauñca birds and collapse to the ground, emphasizing the chaos and horror of the fighting.