Shloka 25
सुप्रतीककुले जाता महापद्मकुले तथा,नरेश्वर! सुप्रतीक, महापद्मय, ऐरावत तथा अन्य [पुण्डरीक, पुष्पदन््त और सार्वभौम-- (इन) दिग्गजोंके] कुलोंमें उत्पन्न हुए बहुतेरे दंतार हाथी भी वहाँ धरतीपर लोट रहे थे
supratīkakule jātā mahāpadmakule tathā, nareśvara! supratīka-mahāpadmaya-airāvata tathā anya (puṇḍarīka-puṣpadanta-sārvabhauma) diggajānāṃ kuleṣu utpannā bahavaḥ dantāra hastinaḥ api tatra dharaṇyāṃ loṭamānāḥ sma
Sañjaya dit : «Ô roi, bien des éléphants aux défenses, de race royale—nés dans les lignées de Supratīka et de Mahāpadma, ainsi que dans celle d’Airāvata, et dans d’autres clans fameux des “éléphants du monde” tels Puṇḍarīka, Puṣpadanta et Sārvabhauma—étaient là, se roulant sur la terre.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral and existential cost of war: even the most exalted emblems of royal power—great war-elephants of renowned lineages—are reduced to helpless suffering on the ground, implying that reliance on might and pedigree is fragile when conflict is driven by adharma.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra the battlefield scene where numerous tusked elephants, belonging to celebrated ‘diggaja’ clans (Supratīka, Mahāpadma, Airāvata, and others), have been struck down and are rolling/writhing on the earth amid the carnage.