Shloka 9
वज्रदत्तेन सह अर्जुनयुद्धम्
Arjuna’s engagement with Vajradatta during the Aśvamedha circuit
स वारणं नगप्रख्यं प्रभिन्नकरटामुखम् । प्रेषयामास संक्रुद्धः श्वेताश्वं प्रति पार्थिव:
sa vāraṇaṁ nagaprakhyaṁ prabhinnakaraṭāmukham | preṣayāmāsa saṅkruddhaḥ śvetāśvaṁ prati pārthivaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : Pris de fureur, le roi envoya en avant un éléphant semblable à une montagne, les tempes ruisselantes du suc de rut, et le lança contre Śvetāśva, le char d’Arjuna au pennon du cheval blanc.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how krodha (anger) can override discernment: a ruler, driven by rage, unleashes disproportionate force. In dharmic terms, power should be governed by self-control; otherwise, it intensifies harm and disorder.
The narrator states that an enraged king dispatches a massive rutting war-elephant—described as mountain-like and streaming temple-fluid—charging it toward Śvetāśva, i.e., Arjuna’s white-horsed chariot in the battle episode of the Aśvamedhika Parva.