Shloka 34
भीमसेन-दुर्योधन-प्रहारः तथा घटोत्कचमायाप्रादुर्भावः | Bhīmasena–Duryodhana Clash and the Manifestation of Ghaṭotkaca’s Māyā
दन्तिनां युध्यमानानां संघर्षात् पावको5भवत् | दन्तेषु भरतश्रेष्ठ सधूम: सर्वतोदिशम्
sañjaya uvāca | dantināṁ yudhyamānānāṁ saṁgharṣāt pāvako 'bhavat | danteṣu bharataśreṣṭha sadhūmaḥ sarvato diśam ||
हे भरतश्रेष्ठ! परस्पर जूझते हुए दन्तार हाथियों के दाँतों के टकराने से अग्नि उत्पन्न हो जाती थी और धुएँ सहित वह ज्वाला सब दिशाओं में फैलती-सी प्रतीत होती थी।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse offers a stark ethical reflection through imagery: in war, aggression and collision escalate so intensely that even natural contact (tusk against tusk) becomes a source of fire and smoke—symbolizing how violence multiplies suffering and spreads fear in all directions.
Sañjaya describes the Kurukṣetra battlefield scene where fighting elephants clash; the friction of their tusks is poetically said to produce smoke and fire, emphasizing the ferocity and chaos of the combat.