Shloka 41
Droṇa Encircled at Night: Coalition Advance and Battlefield Omens (द्रोणपर्यावरणं रात्रियुद्धवर्णनम्)
त्रासिता: शरभस्येव गर्जितेन वने मृगा: । प्राद्रवन् द्विरदा: सर्वे नदन््तो भैरवान् रवान्
trāsitāḥ śarabhasyeva garjitena vane mṛgāḥ | prādravan dviradāḥ sarve nadanto bhairavān ravān ||
Sañjaya said: Terrified—like deer in a forest shaken by the roar of a śarabha—all the elephants fled in panic, bellowing dreadful cries.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how fear can overpower strength: even elephants, symbols of might, lose steadiness when confronted with overwhelming terror. In the ethical landscape of war, such fear-driven reactions show the fragility of composure and the contagious nature of panic.
Sañjaya reports that the elephants on the battlefield broke formation and fled, crying out loudly. Their flight is compared to deer scattering in a forest at the roar of the formidable śarabha, emphasizing the intensity of the threat and the resulting rout.