Mahabharata 4.32.3 — Virata Parva, Adhyaya 32, Shloka 3
Virāṭa Rescued from Suśarmā; Night Battle and Royal Gratitude (विराटमोक्षणं सुशर्मवधाभिमुखं च)
भीमाश्च मत्तमातड्रास्तोमराड्कुशनोदिता: । ग्रामणीयै: समारूढा: कुशलैहस्तिसादिभि:
bhīmāś ca mattamātaṅgāḥ tomarāṅkuśanoditāḥ | grāmaṇīyaiḥ samārūḍhāḥ kuśalair hastisādibhiḥ ||
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: Azuzados por los golpes de las lanzas y el aguijón, elefantes poderosos, enloquecidos por el furor del celo—montados por diestros jinetes y guiados por mahouts eminentes—cargaron desde ambos bandos y se estrellaron unos contra otros. El estruendo de aquella batalla de elefantes, mientras los jinetes se herían con armas, era aterrador, erizaba la piel y podía causar una gran matanza.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical peril of war: even disciplined expertise (skilled riders, controlled elephants) can become catastrophic when combined with rage and force, leading to indiscriminate slaughter and terror.
Two opposing sides deploy musth elephants. Driven forward with lances and goads and mounted by expert riders, the elephants collide from both sides, and the mounted warriors exchange weapon-strikes amid a deafening, frightening melee.
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