Shloka 24
कर्णार्जुनयुद्ध-प्रवृत्तिः
Renewal of the Karṇa–Arjuna Engagement at Day’s End
नागानां प्रास्फुटन् कुम्भा मर्माणि विविधानि च । वन्ताश्वैवातिविद्धानां नाराचैर्भूषणानि च,नाराचोंसे अत्यन्त घायल हुए उन हाथियोंके कुम्भस्थल फूट गये, विभिन्न मर्मस्थान विदीर्ण हो गये तथा उनके दाँत और आभूषण कट गये
nāgānāṃ prāsphuṭan kumbhā marmāṇi vividhāni ca | vantāśvaivātividdhānāṃ nārācair bhūṣaṇāni ca ||
Sañjaya said: Struck again and again by nārāca arrows, the frontal globes of the elephants burst open; their various vital points were torn apart, and even their tusks and ornaments were shorn away.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grim reality of war: martial prowess can destroy not only bodies but also symbols of status and grandeur (tusks, ornaments). It implicitly warns that worldly power and splendor are fragile, and that violence—though part of kṣatriya warfare—carries immense suffering.
Sañjaya describes elephants on the battlefield being struck by heavy nārāca arrows. Their temple-globes split, vital points are ruptured, and their tusks and decorative trappings are cut away—portraying intense, close-quarters carnage in the Karṇa Parva fighting.