Shloka 59
गदया भीमसेनेन नाराचैरर्जुनेन च । तदनन्तर दो ही घड़ीमें भीमसेनने गदासे और अर्जुनने नाराचोंसे उस गज-सेनाका संहार कर डाला ।। अभिपिष्टमहानागै: समन्तात् पर्वतोपमै:
sañjaya uvāca | gadayā bhīmasenena nārācair arjunena ca | tadanantaraṃ hi ghaḍī-dvaye bhīmasenena gadayā arjunena ca nārācaiḥ sā gaja-senā saṃhṛtā || abhipiṣṭa-mahānāgaiḥ samantāt parvatopamaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: With his mace Bhīmasena, and with his iron arrows Arjuna, in the very next short while, utterly destroyed that elephant-corps. All around, huge elephants—mountain-like in bulk—were crushed and trampled, as the battle’s violence surged without restraint.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the terrifying efficiency of martial prowess when unleashed in war: even the mightiest formations (an elephant corps) can be swiftly annihilated. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension—kṣatriya-duty compels combat, yet the narrative simultaneously exposes war’s crushing, dehumanizing force and the fragility of worldly power.
Sañjaya reports that Bhīma, wielding his mace, and Arjuna, shooting heavy iron arrows (nārācas), quickly destroy an enemy elephant contingent. The battlefield is depicted as filled on all sides with mountain-like elephants being crushed and trampled amid the onrush of combat.