Shloka 21
कर्णस्य दानप्रतिज्ञा–शल्योपदेश–वाक्ययुद्धम्
Karna’s Gift-Vows, Shalya’s Counsel, and the Battle of Words
विद्राव्य च बहूनश्वान् नागा राजन् मदोत्कटा: । विषाणैश्वापरे जघ्नुर्ममृदुश्चापरे भूशम्
vidrāvya ca bahūn aśvān nāgā rājan madotkaṭāḥ | viṣāṇaiś cāpare jaghnur mamṛduś cāpare bhūśam ||
Sañjaya dit : Ô roi, bien des éléphants, rendus furieux par l’ivresse du musth, mirent en déroute un grand nombre de chevaux ; les uns les tuèrent en les éventrant et en les broyant de leurs défenses, les autres les piétinèrent sous la violence de leur charge. La scène souligne l’élan brutal de la guerre, où la force et la frénésie submergent les êtres vivants, et où le champ de bataille devient un lieu qui pousse les créatures à une violence au-delà de tout choix moral.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is primarily descriptive, yet it implicitly highlights the dehumanizing and indiscriminate nature of war: even animals, driven by rut and battlefield chaos, become instruments of mass harm. It invites reflection on the ethical cost of conflict, where life is crushed by forces of frenzy and power rather than guided by dharma.
Sañjaya reports to the king that elephants, maddened with rut, are routing cavalry. Some kill horses by pressing and goring with their tusks; others trample them into the ground as they surge forward, intensifying the carnage on the battlefield.