Shloka 37
Chapter 51: Saṃdhyākāla-saṃhāra
Evening Withdrawal after Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
तस्य क्रुद्ध:ः स नागेन्द्रो बृहत: साधुवाहिन: । पदा युगमधिष्ठाय जघान चतुरो हयान्,इससे वह गजेन्द्र शल्यपर अत्यन्त कुपित हो उठा और अपना एक पैर रथके जूएपर रखकर उसे अच्छी तरह वहन करनेवाले चारों विशाल घोड़ोंको मार डाला
tasya kruddhaḥ sa nāgendro bṛhataḥ sādhuvāhinaḥ | padā yugam adhiṣṭhāya jaghāna caturo hayān |
Murka karena itu, sang gajendra menginjakkan satu kaki pada kuk kereta dan membunuh keempat kuda besar penarik kereta itu.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger (krodha) can rapidly escalate destruction in war: a single surge of wrath turns power into indiscriminate killing, reminding the listener of the ethical peril of uncontrolled rage even amid sanctioned conflict.
Sañjaya describes a powerful elephant, furious in battle, stepping onto the chariot’s yoke and killing the four large horses that were drawing the chariot, thereby crippling the chariot’s mobility and intensifying the chaos of the fight.