Shloka 8
Gāndhārī’s Battlefield Survey: The Fallen and the Onset of Funeral Rites (शल्य-भगीरथ-भीष्म-द्रोणादि-दर्शनम्)
शल्यं निपतितं नार्य: परिवार्याभित: स्थिता: । वासिता गृष्टय: पड़के परिमग्नमिव द्विपम्,रणभूमिमें गिरे हुए राजा शल्यको उनकी स्त्रियाँ उसी तरह सब ओरसे घेरे हुए हैं, जैसे एक बारकी ब्यायी हुई हथिनियाँ कीचड़में फँसे हुए गजराजको घेरकर खड़ी हों
śalyaṁ nipatitaṁ nāryaḥ parivāryābhitaḥ sthitāḥ | vāsitā gṛṣṭayaḥ paṅke parimagnam iva dvipam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: When King Śalya had fallen on the battlefield, his women stood all around him, enclosing him on every side—like elephants that have recently calved, gathering around their lord who has sunk into the mire.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the human cost of war: even a mighty king, once a protector, becomes helpless in death, while those bound to him by affection and duty remain steadfast. The simile of elephants around a mire-stuck leader evokes protective solidarity amid irreversible loss.
After King Śalya falls in battle, his wives gather around his body, surrounding him from all sides. The scene is compared to newly-calved female elephants standing around their bull-elephant who has sunk into mud.