Shloka 15
मत्तस्येव गजेन्द्रस्य गतिमास्थाय सो5व्रजत् । वातिक और चारण भी उसे देखकर हर्षसे खिल उठे। पाण्डवोंसे घिरा हुआ आपका पुत्र कुरुराज दुर्योधन मतवाले गजराजकी-सी गतिका आश्रय लेकर चल रहा था ।। १४३ || ततः शड्खनिनादेन भेरीणां च महास्वनै:
sa f1jaya uv01ca |
mattsyasyeva gajendrasya gatim 01sth01ya so 'vrajat |
p01 0davai 25 pariv01rito r01jan tava putro duryodhana 25 |
matta-gaja-r01ja-gati 43 01sth01ya cac01la ||
tata 25 5ba 45kha-nin01dena bher2b 4701 43 ca mah01svanai 25 ||
Sañjaya said: Encircled by the Pāṇḍavas, O King, your son Duryodhana advanced with the gait of a rutting lordly elephant—proud and forceful, proclaiming defiance even while hemmed in by foes. Then, with the blare of conches and the great booming of kettledrums, the battlefield resounded.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how pride and martial bravado can persist even in peril: Duryodhana projects the intimidating confidence of a rutting elephant though he is surrounded. Ethically, it suggests the tragic power of ahamk01ra (self-assertive pride) in warit can look like courage, yet it may also blind one to counsel and consequences.
Sanjaya describes Duryodhana moving forward on the battlefield while encircled by the P01 0davas. His movement is compared to that of a maddened elephant, and immediately afterward the scene swells with the loud blasts of conches and the booming of war-drums, intensifying the battle atmosphere.