Shloka 18
द्रोणपर्व — द्विनवति-तमोऽध्यायः
Sātyaki Pressed by Kauravas; Duryodhana and Kṛtavarmā Engagements
गाण्डीव धनुषद्वारा चलाये हुए लाखों तीखे बाण युद्ध-स्थलमें खड़े हुए उन हाथियोंके सम्पूर्ण अंगोंमें बिंध गये थे ।। आरावं परम॑ कृत्वा वध्यमाना: किरीटिना । निपेतुरनिशं भूमौ छिन्नपक्षा इवाद्रय:,अर्जुनके बाणोंकी मार खाकर बड़े चोरसे चीत्कार करके वे हाथी पंख कटे हुए पर्वतोंके समान पृथ्वीपर निरन्तर गिर रहे थे
ārāvaṁ paramaṁ kṛtvā vadhyamānāḥ kirīṭinā | nipetur aniśaṁ bhūmau chinnapakṣā ivādrayaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Countless sharp arrows, shot from the Gāṇḍīva, pierced every limb of those elephants standing on the battlefield. Struck down by the Diademed one (Arjuna), they gave a terrible roar as they were being slain and kept collapsing upon the earth again and again—like mountains whose wings have been cut.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the devastating momentum of war: even the strongest beings (war-elephants) are brought down when dharma has shifted into a grim necessity of battle. It implicitly warns that martial excellence, though admirable, operates within a tragic field where power and life are fragile.
Sañjaya describes Arjuna’s arrows striking the elephants so severely that, roaring loudly, they repeatedly collapse to the ground. Their fall is compared to wingless mountains, emphasizing both their massive size and their sudden helplessness.