Shloka 156
भीष्मस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति उपालम्भः
Bhīṣma’s Reproof to Duryodhana
पर्वताग्रैश्व वृक्षेश्न निजघ्नुस्ते महागजान् । वे भाँति-भाँतिकी गर्जना करते हुए बिजलीसहित मेघोंके समान शोभा पाते थे। बाण, शक्ति, ऋष्टि, नाराच, भिन्दिपाल, शूल, मुद्गर, फरसों, पर्वतशिखर तथा वृक्षोंका प्रहार करके वे गजारोहियों तथा विशाल गजोंका वध करने लगे
parvatāgraiś ca vṛkṣaiś ca nijaghnus te mahāgajān |
Sañjaya dijo: Golpeando con cimas de montaña y con árboles, derribaron a los poderosos elefantes. En el fragor de la batalla, los guerreros—rugiendo de mil maneras como nubes de trueno cargadas de relámpagos—comenzaron a dar muerte a los jinetes de elefante y a los enormes paquidermos con golpes de flechas y lanzas, picas y dardos de hierro, bhindipālas y tridentes, mazas y hachas, y también arrojando rocas y árboles arrancados de raíz.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse does not teach a doctrinal maxim directly; it portrays the extremity of battlefield conduct. Ethically, it highlights how war magnifies destructive impulses and how even nature (trees, rocks) is turned into weaponry—inviting reflection on the cost of conflict and the burden borne under kṣatriya-dharma.
Sañjaya describes a fierce phase of the Kurukṣetra battle where warriors, roaring like thunderclouds with lightning, attack and kill massive war-elephants and their riders using conventional weapons (arrows, spears, darts) and improvised ones (rocks and uprooted trees).