Shloka 10
कर्णार्जुनयुद्ध-प्रवृत्तिः
Renewal of the Karṇa–Arjuna Engagement at Day’s End
ते म्लेच्छै: प्रेषिता नागा नरानश्वान् रथानपि । हस्तैराक्षिप्य ममृदुः पद्धिश्चाप्पतिमन्यव:,म्लेच्छोंद्वारा आगे बढ़ाये हुए वे अत्यन्त क्रोधी गजराज मनुष्यों, घोड़ों और रथोंको अपनी सूँड़ोंसे उठाकर फेंक देते और उन्हें पैरोंसे मसल डालते थे
te mlecchaiḥ preṣitā nāgā narān aśvān rathān api | hastair ākṣipya mamṛduḥ padbhiś cāpatimanyavaḥ ||
Sanjaya said: Urged on by the Mlecchas, the elephant-lords—seized by fierce wrath—would snatch up men, horses, and even chariots with their trunks, hurl them away, and then crush them underfoot. The sight revealed how, in battle’s frenzy, unbridled anger turns both living beings and war-machines into objects of violent ruin, deepening the moral darkness of the field.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how uncontrolled anger (krodha) in war dehumanizes and destroys indiscriminately—men, animals, and vehicles—suggesting the ethical peril of battle when restraint and dharma are eclipsed.
Mleccha forces drive forward enraged war-elephants; the elephants seize warriors, horses, and chariots with their trunks and then trample them, depicting a brutal surge in the fighting.