Shloka 42

Devanagari script

तेषां तथा कर्षतां तु गजानां रूपमाबभौ | सर:सु नलिनीजालं विषक्तमिव कर्षताम्‌

Transliteration

teṣāṃ tathā karṣatāṃ tu gajānāṃ rūpam ābabhau | saraḥsu nalinījālaṃ viṣaktam iva karṣatām ||

Translation

Dijo Sañjaya: Mientras aquellos elefantes forcejeaban y arrastraban así, su aspecto era como una red enmarañada de tallos de loto atrapada en los lagos: una imagen de fuerza poderosa entorpecida por el enredo en medio de la guerra.

Word by Word

तेषाम्of them

तथाthus, in that manner

कर्षताम्of (those) dragging/pulling

तुbut, indeed

गजानाम्of the elephants

रूपम्appearance, form

आबभौshone, appeared

सरःसुin lakes/ponds

नलिनीजालम्a mass/net of lotuses

विषक्तम्clinging, stuck, entangled

इवlike, as if

कर्षताम्of (those) dragging/pulling

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

elephants (gaja)

lakes/ponds (saras)

lotus-net/mass (nalinījāla)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how even great power can be checked by entanglement and adverse conditions; in war, strength alone does not guarantee freedom of action, and confusion can bind the mighty like a net.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes elephants in the battle struggling as they pull and strain; their clustered, hindered movement is compared to lotus-stalks tangled together in a lake.