Shloka 24
Adhyāya 55: Pārtha–Rādheya Saṃvāda and Tactical Exchange
Chapter 55
संततास्तत्र मातड्भरा बाणैरल्पान्तरान्तरे । संवृतास्तेन दृश्यन्ते मेघा इव गभस्तिभि:,उस युद्धभूमिमें खड़े हुए हाथियोंके सम्पूर्ण अंग बहुत थोड़ी-थोड़ी दूरपर बाणोंसे छिद गये थे। इस कारण वे सूर्यकी किरणोंसे आवृत मेघोंकी घटाके समान दिखायी देते थे
santatās tatra mātaṅgabharā bāṇair alpāntarāntare | saṃvṛtās tena dṛśyante meghā iva gabhastibhiḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana dijo: Allí, en el campo de batalla, los cuerpos de los elefantes eran atravesados sin cesar por flechas a intervalos muy cortos. Cubiertos por completo de aquellos astiles, parecían densas nubes veladas por los rayos del sol.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse offers a stark ethical reminder through imagery: war’s glory is inseparable from pervasive suffering. By comparing arrow-covered elephants to clouds veiled by sunlight, it emphasizes how violence obscures life and dignity, urging reflection on the human and animal cost of conflict.
The narrator describes the battlefield scene: elephants standing in combat have their bodies densely riddled with arrows, so thoroughly covered that they resemble clouds wrapped in sunbeams.