Shloka 67

Devanagari script

दन्तिभिशक्षापरैस्तत्र सप्रासैर्गाढवेदनै: | करै: शब्द विमुञ्चद्धिः शीकरं मुहुर्मुहु:,कुछ दन्तार हाथी प्रास धँस जानेके कारण गहरी व्यथासे युक्त सूँड़ोंद्वारा बारंबार शब्द करते और पानीके कण फेंकते थे

Transliteration

dantibhiḥ kṣatāparais tatra sa-prāsair gāḍha-vedanaiḥ | karaiḥ śabdaṃ vimuñcadbhiḥ śīkaraṃ muhur muhuḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “There, the elephants—wounded and pierced by spears, suffering intense pain—kept trumpeting again and again with their trunks, repeatedly spraying fine droplets of water.”

Word by Word

दन्तिभिःby/with the elephants

क्षत-परैःby those intent on wounding / wound-dealing

तत्रthere

स-प्रासैःwith spears

गाढ-वेदनैःwith intense pain

करैःwith (their) trunks

शब्दम्a sound/cry

विमुञ्चद्भिःby (those) emitting/uttering

हिindeed

शीकरम्spray/droplets

मुहुःagain and again

मुहुःrepeatedly

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

elephants (dantinaḥ)

spears (prāsa)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical gravity of war: power and grandeur on the battlefield coexist with intense suffering. It invites reflection on the human (and non-human) cost that accompanies armed conflict, tempering triumphalism with awareness and compassion.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes wounded elephants on the battlefield. Pierced by spears and in severe pain, they trumpet repeatedly and spray water with their trunks—vivid sensory details that convey the chaos and cruelty of the fighting.