Shloka 30
Adhyāya 104 — Śikhaṇḍin-puraskāraḥ (Śikhaṇḍin as Vanguard) and Bhīṣma’s Counter-Advance
आर्जुनि: समरे सैन्यं तावकं सम्ममर्द ह | मदान्धो गन्धनागेन्द्र: सपड्मां पिशेनीमिव
sañjaya uvāca | arjuniḥ samare sainyaṃ tāvakaṃ sammamarda ha | madāndho gandhanāgendraḥ sapadmāṃ puṣkariṇīm iva |
संजय बोले—रण के घमासान में अर्जुनपुत्र अभिमन्यु ने आपकी सेना को उसी समय कुचलना आरम्भ किया। जैसे सुगन्ध से युक्त मदोन्मत्त गजराज कमलों से भरी हुई सरोवर-जलराशि को मथ डालता है, वैसे ही वह वेग से व्यूह को भेदता हुआ पंक्तियों को चूर-चूर करने लगा।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma in its narrative form: disciplined martial prowess used decisively in war. Ethically, it underscores how duty-driven combat can be portrayed as forceful yet purposeful, framed through poetic imagery rather than moral celebration of violence for its own sake.
After a māyā-based (deceptive/illusory) fighter is overcome (as indicated by the accompanying Hindi gloss), Abhimanyu immediately begins to rout and crush the Kaurava forces on the battlefield, compared to a rut-maddened elephant churning a lotus-filled pond.