Shloka 39
Devanagari script
तथा गजानू प्रभिन्नांश्व॒ सम्प्रभिन्ना महागजा:
Transliteration
tathā gajānu prabhinnāṁśva samprabhinnā mahāgajāḥ
Translation
Sañjaya said: “Likewise, the great elephants were in full musth—some with their temples streaming—charging and surging amid the battle’s tumult.”
Word by Word
तथाthus, likewise
तथा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootतथा
गजान्elephants
गजान्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootगज
FormMasculine, Accusative, Plural
उindeed/and (emphatic particle)
उ:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootउ
प्रभिन्नान्rutting, in musth (with ichor flowing)
प्रभिन्नान्:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootप्रभिन्न
FormMasculine, Accusative, Plural
इवlike, as
इव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootइव
सम्प्रभिन्नाःfully rutting, greatly in musth
सम्प्रभिन्नाः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootसम्प्रभिन्न
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
महागजाःgreat elephants
महागजाः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootमहागज
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
Speaker
संजय उवाच
Characters & Entities
स
संजय (Sañjaya)म
महागज (mighty elephants)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
The verse is primarily descriptive rather than didactic: it underscores how war unleashes uncontrollable forces—symbolized by musth elephants—suggesting the ethical danger of violence once it escalates beyond restraint.
Sañjaya reports the battlefield scene: mighty elephants, inflamed in musth with streaming temples, are charging and surging, intensifying the chaos and ferocity of the fighting.