Shloka 19
Adhyāya 17 — गजयुद्ध-वृत्तान्तः, सहदेव-दुःशासन-संघर्षः, नकुल-कर्ण-समागमः
Elephant-battle account; Sahadeva–Duhshasana clash; Nakula–Karna encounter
तथार्धचन्द्रेण हतं किरीटिना पपात दण्डस्य शिर:ः क्षितिं द्विपात् । तच्छोणितादे निपतद् विरेजे दिवाकरोडस्तादिव पश्चिमां दिशम्
tathārdhacandreṇa hataṃ kirīṭinā papāta daṇḍasya śiraḥ kṣitiṃ dvipāt | tacchoṇitārde nipatad vireje divākaro 'stād iva paścimāṃ diśam ||
Sañjaya dit : Frappée par une flèche en croissant, lancée par Arjuna, le guerrier au diadème, la tête de Daṇḍa fut tranchée et tomba de l’éléphant sur la terre. En chutant, ruisselante de sang, elle brilla comme le soleil qui s’abîme à l’ouest derrière la montagne du couchant.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s ethical tension: even when a warrior acts within kṣatriya-dharma (skillful combat in a justly undertaken war), the outcome remains starkly tragic. The poet’s sunset simile frames victory as momentarily radiant yet inseparable from bloodshed and impermanence.
Sañjaya reports that Arjuna strikes Daṇḍa with an ardhacandra (crescent-shaped arrow), severing his head. The head falls from the elephant to the ground, and its blood-soaked descent is compared to the sun setting in the western sky.