Shloka 19

द्रोणपर्व — द्विनवति-तमोऽध्यायः

Sātyaki Pressed by Kauravas; Duryodhana and Kṛtavarmā Engagements

Devanagari script

अपरे दन्तवेष्टेषु कुम्भेषु च कटेषु च । शरै: समर्पिता नागा: क्रौज्चवद्‌ व्यनदन्‌ मुहुः,कुछ दूसरे गजराज नीचेके ओठढोंमें, कुम्भस्थलोंमें और कनपटियोंमें बाणोंसे छिद जानेके कारण कुरर पक्षीके समान बारंबार आर्तनाद कर रहे थे

Transliteration

apare dantaveṣṭeṣu kumbheṣu ca kaṭeṣu ca | śaraiḥ samarpitā nāgāḥ krauñcavad vyanadan muhuḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya dit : D’autres éléphants seigneuriaux, percés de flèches à la lèvre inférieure, aux tempes et aux joues, poussaient sans cesse des cris de détresse, pareils au chant de l’oiseau krauñca—image qui souligne la souffrance inexorable déchaînée par la bataille.

Word by Word

अपरेothers (some other)

दन्तवेष्टेषुin the lip/teeth-enclosing parts (lower lips)

कुम्भेषुin the temples (elephant’s frontal globes)

चand

कटेषुin the cheeks/side of the head (elephant’s temples/cheek-region)

चand

शरैःwith arrows

समर्पिताःpierced/struck (lit. made to enter/impelled in)

नागाःelephants

क्रौञ्चवत्like a krauñca bird (curlew/heron-like bird)

व्यनदन्they cried out / roared

मुहुःagain and again

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

nāgāḥ (war-elephants)

śarāḥ (arrows)

krauñca (bird)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the collateral suffering of war—creatures without agency endure intense pain—inviting reflection on the moral weight of violence even within the framework of kṣatriya-duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene where elephants, wounded by arrows in sensitive facial regions, repeatedly cry out in distress, their sound compared to the plaintive call of the krauñca bird.