Shloka 58
Śālva’s Elephant Assault and the Counterstroke (शाल्वस्य नागारूढाभ्यवहारः)
दुर्योधन: स्वकं सैन्यमब्रवीद् भृशविक्षतम् | जब दुर्योधनने देखा कि मेरी सेना भागनेका निश्चय करके अभी अधिक दूर नहीं गयी है, तब उसने उन अत्यन्त घायल हुए सैनिकोंको पुकारकर कहा-- ।। नतं देशं प्रपश्यामि पृथिव्यां पर्वतेषु च
duryodhanaḥ svakaṃ sainyam abravīd bhṛśa-vikṣatam | na taṃ deśaṃ prapaśyāmi pṛthivyāṃ parvateṣu ca ||
Sañjaya dit : Duryodhana s’adressa à sa propre armée, cruellement meurtrie. Voyant que ses troupes, décidées à fuir, n’étaient pas encore allées loin, il interpella les guerriers grièvement blessés et déclara : «Je ne vois aucun lieu—ni sur la terre ni parmi les montagnes—où vous deviez vous tourner pour prendre la fuite.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the crisis of morale in war and a ruler’s attempt to halt flight by invoking steadfastness. Ethically, it points to the tension between survival-instinct and the kṣatriya ideal of standing one’s ground, even when the cause and outcome are already darkened by adharma.
After heavy losses, the Kaurava troops begin to withdraw. Duryodhana notices they have not gone far and calls out to the badly wounded soldiers, trying to stop the rout and rally them, asserting that there is no ‘safe place’ to turn to—neither on the plains nor in the mountains.