Shloka 43
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 95 — Sātyaki’s Breakthrough and the Routing of Allied Contingents
द्राविडास्तत्र युध्यन्ते मत्तमातड्भविक्रमा: । गोयोनिप्रभवा म्लेच्छा: कालकल्पा: प्रहारिण:,मतवाले हाथियोंके समान पराक्रमी द्राविड तथा नन्दिनी गायसे उत्पन्न हुए कालके समान प्रहारकुशल म्लेच्छ भी वहाँ युद्ध कर रहे थे
drāviḍās tatra yudhyante mattamātaṅgabhavikramāḥ | goyoniprabhavā mlecchāḥ kālakalpāḥ prahāriṇaḥ ||
Sañjaya dit : Là, les Drāviḍas combattaient, vaillants comme des éléphants enivrés; et les guerriers mleccha—que l’on disait issus de la lignée de la vache Nandinī—se battaient aussi en ce lieu, frappant comme le Temps lui-même.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the overwhelming, impersonal force of war: diverse peoples are swept into combat, and their violence is likened to Kāla (Time/Death), suggesting that in battle human prowess often appears as an instrument of inexorable fate.
Sañjaya is describing the battlefield scene, noting that Drāviḍa warriors fight with elephant-like ferocity, and that Mleccha fighters—associated in tradition with Nandinī’s bovine lineage—are also present, delivering devastating blows.