Shloka 40
गजास्ते पन्नगा भोगैह्हस्तैर्भूरिणुगुण्ठितै: । निद्रान्धा वसुधां चक्रुर्प्राणनि:श्वासशीतलाम्,नींदसे अंधे हुए हाथी सर्पोंके समान धूलमें सनी हुई सूँड़ोंसे लंबी-लंबी साँसें छोड़कर इस वसुधाको शीतल करने लगे
gajāste pannagabhogair hastair bhūriṇuguṇṭhitaiḥ | nidrāndhā vasudhāṃ cakruḥ prāṇaniḥśvāsaśītalām ||
Sañjaya said: Those elephants, their trunks coiled like the folds of serpents and thickly smeared with dust, were blinded by sleep; breathing out long, heavy breaths, they seemed to cool the very earth. The verse underscores the war’s exhaustion—life-force reduced to mere breath—hinting at the ethical cost of battle where even mighty creatures are driven into helpless fatigue.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the aftermath of violence: even powerful beings become helpless with fatigue, and the battlefield reduces vitality to mere breath—inviting reflection on the human and ecological cost of war.
Sañjaya describes elephants on the battlefield, dust-covered and drowsy, breathing heavily; their cool exhalations are poetically said to cool the earth.