Shloka 58
Śalya’s Objection to Sārathya and Duryodhana’s Conciliation (शल्यमन्यु-प्रशमनम् / Sārathyāṅgīkāra)
तत्र तत्र च समभ्रान्ता विचेरुर्मत्तकुज्जरा:
tatra tatra ca samabhrāntā vicerur mattakujjarāḥ
Sañjaya dijo: En muchos puntos del campo de batalla, los elefantes—enloquecidos y desorientados—vagaban de un lado a otro, sembrando confusión y terror.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war unleashes forces that quickly exceed human control: even powerful assets like war-elephants become disoriented and dangerous. Ethically, it points to the collateral chaos of violence—once conflict escalates, restraint and order are hard to maintain.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield condition: elephants, maddened and confused amid the fighting, are roaming in different directions. This conveys the breakdown of formations and the spreading panic and disruption during the clash.