Shloka 156
भीष्मस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति उपालम्भः
Bhīṣma’s Reproof to Duryodhana
पर्वताग्रैश्व वृक्षेश्न निजघ्नुस्ते महागजान् । वे भाँति-भाँतिकी गर्जना करते हुए बिजलीसहित मेघोंके समान शोभा पाते थे। बाण
parvatāgraiś ca vṛkṣaiś ca nijaghnus te mahāgajān |
Sañjaya dit : Frappant avec des cimes de montagne et des arbres, ils abattirent les éléphants puissants. Dans le tumulte du combat, les guerriers—rugissant de mille façons tels des nuées d’orage chargées d’éclairs—se mirent à massacrer les cornacs et les grands éléphants à coups de flèches et de lances, de piques et de dards de fer, de bhindipālas et de tridents, de massues et de haches, et aussi en lançant des rochers et des arbres arrachés.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse does not teach a doctrinal maxim directly; it portrays the extremity of battlefield conduct. Ethically, it highlights how war magnifies destructive impulses and how even nature (trees, rocks) is turned into weaponry—inviting reflection on the cost of conflict and the burden borne under kṣatriya-dharma.
Sañjaya describes a fierce phase of the Kurukṣetra battle where warriors, roaring like thunderclouds with lightning, attack and kill massive war-elephants and their riders using conventional weapons (arrows, spears, darts) and improvised ones (rocks and uprooted trees).