Shloka 36
भीष्मशिबिरगमनम् — Duryodhana’s Visit to Bhīṣma’s Camp and the Command Appeal
इरावानथ निर्भिन्न: प्रासैस्तीकणैर्महात्मभि: । स्रवता रुधिरेणाक्तस्तोत्रैविंद्ध इव द्विप:,उन महामनस्वी वीरोंके तीखे प्रासोंसे क्षत-विक्षत होकर इरावान् बहते हुए रक्तसे नहा उठा। अंकुशोंसे घायल हुए हाथीके समान व्याकुल हो गया
irāvān atha nirbhinnaḥ prāsais tīkṣṇair mahātmabhiḥ | sravatā rudhireṇāktaḥ totrair viddha iva dvipaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Then Irāvān, pierced and torn by the sharp spears hurled by great-souled warriors, became smeared with streaming blood. Like an elephant goaded and wounded by the driver’s hook, he grew distressed and unsteady—his valor meeting the brutal, impersonal force of battle.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the stark reality of war: even the noble and courageous are reduced to suffering bodies. The elephant-goad simile highlights how violence drives beings into distress, reminding the reader that battlefield glory is inseparable from pain and the ethical weight of harm.
Sañjaya describes Irāvān on the battlefield being repeatedly pierced by sharp spears thrown by heroic warriors. Covered in flowing blood, Irāvān becomes agitated and distressed, compared to an elephant wounded by an elephant-hook.