Shloka 566
Nakula–Śakuni Duel and the Night Battle; Śikhaṇḍin–Kṛpa Engagement (नकुल-शकुनियुद्धं तथा रात्रियुद्धवर्णनम्)
महाद्विपेनेव वने मत्तेन हरियूथपम् | तब अर्जुनने प्रसन्नचित्त होकर भगवान् श्रीकृष्णसे कहा--“भगवन्! देखिये, जैसे कोई सिंहोंका यूथपषति वनमें मतवाले महान् गजके साथ क्रीडा करे, उसी प्रकार कुरुकुलशिरोमणि भूरिश्रवा वृष्णिवंशके प्रमुख वीर सात्यकिके साथ रणक्रीडा कर रहे हैं!
sañjaya uvāca | mahādvipeṇeva vane mattena hariyūthapam | tad arjunena prasannacitto bhagavān śrīkṛṣṇase kahā— “bhagavan! dekhie, jaise koī siṃhoṃkā yūthapati vanameṃ matavāle mahān gajake sātha krīḍā kare, usī prakāra kurukulaśiromaṇi bhūriśravā vṛṣṇivaṃśake pramukha vīra sātyakike sātha raṇakrīḍā kara rahe haiṃ!”
Sanjaya said: Arjuna, his mind bright with confidence, spoke to Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa: “O Blessed One, look! Just as the leader of lions in the forest toys with a great, intoxicated elephant, so does Bhūriśravā—crown-jewel of the Kuru line—sport in battle with Sātyaki, the foremost hero of the Vṛṣṇis.” The image underscores the moral tension of war: prowess can appear as ‘play’ to the mighty, yet it is deadly earnest for those caught within it.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how martial superiority can make combat seem like ‘sport’ to a powerful warrior, raising an ethical contrast between the warrior’s exhilaration and the grave human cost of battle—an implicit reminder that dharma in war demands restraint and awareness, not mere intoxication with strength.
Sanjaya reports that Arjuna, encouraged and attentive, points out to Kṛṣṇa the duel where Bhūriśravā is engaging Sātyaki. Arjuna frames it through a vivid simile: a lion-chief playing with a musth elephant, suggesting Bhūriśravā’s aggressive dominance and the ferocity of the encounter.