Shloka 5
Adhyāya 17 — गजयुद्ध-वृत्तान्तः, सहदेव-दुःशासन-संघर्षः, नकुल-कर्ण-समागमः
Elephant-battle account; Sahadeva–Duhshasana clash; Nakula–Karna encounter
स मागधानां प्रवरो$ड्कुशग्रहे ग्रहेडप्रसह्ो विकचो यथा ग्रह: । सपत्नसेनां प्रममाथ दारुणो महीं समग्रां विकचो यथा ग्रह:,मागध वीरोंमें सर्वश्रेष्ठ दण्डधार अंकुश धारण करके हाथीद्वारा युद्ध करनेमें अपना सानी नहीं रखते थे। जैसे ग्रहोंमें केतुग्रहका वेग असहां होता है, उसी प्रकार उनका आक्रमण भी शत्रुओंके लिये असहनीय था। जैसे धूमकेतु नामक उत्पातग्रह सम्पूर्ण भूमण्डलके लिये अनिष्टकारक होता है, उसी प्रकार उस भयंकर वीरने वहाँ शत्रुओंकी सम्पूर्ण सेनाको मथ डाला
sa māgadhānāṁ pravaro 'ṅkuśagrahe grahe 'prasaho vikaco yathā grahaḥ | sapatnasenāṁ pramamātha dāruṇo mahīṁ samagrāṁ vikaco yathā grahaḥ ||
Sanjaya said: Daṇḍadhāra, foremost among the Magadhas, gripping the elephant-goad, had no equal in elephant-combat. Like a blazing comet among the heavenly bodies, his charge was irresistible; so too was his onset unbearable to the foe. And like a portentous comet that brings calamity upon the whole earth, that terrible hero crushed the opposing army there in its entirety.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how overwhelming power in war can become like a cosmic portent—irresistible and broadly harmful—suggesting an ethical tension in kṣatriya valor: prowess may be admirable, yet its unchecked force brings collective suffering.
Sañjaya describes a foremost Magadhan warrior, expert in elephant-fighting and holding an elephant-goad, who attacks with comet-like irresistibility and devastates the opposing army, likened to a calamity-bringing comet affecting the whole earth.