Shloka 27
Bhīmasena’s Kalinga Engagement and the Approach of Bhīṣma (भीमसेन-कालिङ्ग-संग्रामः)
साश्वारोहान् विषाणाग्रैरुत्क्षिप्प तुरगान् गजा: । रथौघानभिमृद्नन्त: सध्वजानभिचक्रमु:
sāśvārōhān viṣāṇāgrair utkṣipya turagān gajāḥ | rathaughān abhimṛdnantaḥ sadhvajān abhicakramuḥ ||
Sañjaya dit : Les éléphants, soulevant les chevaux avec leurs cavaliers à la pointe de leurs défenses et piétinant sous leurs pieds des masses de chars avec leurs bannières, parcouraient le champ de bataille—image de la force écrasante de la guerre, où la vaillance et la vie sont renversées en un instant.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the overwhelming, indiscriminate destructiveness of war: even the proud instruments of royal power—horses, chariots, banners—are easily shattered. It implicitly invites reflection on impermanence and the grave ethical weight borne by those who choose or sustain battle.
Sañjaya describes the combat at Kurukṣetra: elephants are charging through the field, hooking and tossing horses with riders using their tusks and trampling chariot formations along with their standards as they move about in the fray.