Shloka 39
गिरिमात्रा हि ते नागा भिन्नाउ्जनचयोपमा: । विरेजुर्वसुधां प्राप्ता विकीर्णा इव पर्वता:,कटे हुए कोयलेकी राशिके समान काले और गिरिराजके समान ऊँचे शरीरवाले वे हाथी पृथ्वीपर गिरकर इधर-उधर बिखरे हुए पर्वतोंके समान शोभा पाते थे
girimātrā hi te nāgā bhinnāñjanacayopamāḥ | virejur vasudhāṃ prāptā vikīrṇā iva parvatāḥ ||
Sanjaya berkata: Gajah-gajah itu setinggi gunung dan hitam laksana tumpukan celak yang dihancurkan. Setelah jatuh ke bumi dan tercerai-berai, mereka tampak bagai gunung-gunung yang berserakan.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the impermanence of worldly power: even mountain-like war-elephants, symbols of might, end up fallen and scattered. It implicitly cautions against pride in strength and points to the grave human and moral cost of warfare.
Sañjaya narrates the battlefield scene: massive, dark war-elephants have been struck down and have fallen to the ground. Their bodies lie scattered across the earth, and in that spread-out stillness they resemble dispersed mountains.