Shloka 11
कर्णार्जुनयुद्ध-प्रवृत्तिः
Renewal of the Karṇa–Arjuna Engagement at Day’s End
विषाणलग्नाश्षाप्यन्ये परिपेतुर्विभीषणा:,कितनोंको अपने दाँतोंके अग्रभागसे विदीर्ण कर देते और बहुतोंको सूँड्रोंसे खींचकर दूर फेंक देते थे। कितने ही योद्धा उनके दाँतोंमें गुथकर बड़ी भयानक अवस्थामें नीचे गिरते थे
viṣāṇalagnāś cāpy anye paripetur vibhīṣaṇāḥ | kecid dantāgrabhāgena vidīrya nipapātuḥ | bahūn tu śuṇḍābhiḥ kṛṣṭvā dūre nyakṣipan | kecid danteṣu gūḍhāḥ san bhṛśaṃ ghorataraṃ patitāḥ ||
Sanjaya said: Some warriors, caught upon the beasts’ horns, were hurled about in terror. Some were torn apart by the very tips of their tusks; many were seized by their trunks and flung far away. Others, wedged fast between their teeth, fell down in a most dreadful state. The scene lays bare the war’s brutal momentum, where valor and duty are eclipsed by indiscriminate violence that consumes combatants.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the dehumanizing force of war: once unleashed, violence becomes indiscriminate, reducing warriors—regardless of merit—to bodily vulnerability. It implicitly cautions that even when framed as kṣatriya-duty, battle carries grave ethical and human costs.
Sañjaya describes a chaotic battlefield scene involving war-elephants: some fighters are caught on horns, some are ripped by teeth, many are grabbed by trunks and thrown away, and others are crushed or wedged in the elephants’ mouths before falling in a horrific condition.