Shloka 1
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 186 — Drupada’s Summons and the Pāñcāla Reception
वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं-जनमेजय! वे सब नवयुवक राजा अनेक आशभूषणोंसे विभूषित हो कानोंमें कुण्डल पहने और परस्पर लाग-डाँट रखते हुए हाथोंमें अस्त्र-शस्त्र लिये अपने-अपने आसनोंसे उठने लगे। उन्हें अपनेमें ही सबसे अधिक अस्त्रविद्या और बलके होनेका अभिमान था; सभीको अपने रूप, पराक्रम, कुल, शील, धन और जवानीका बड़ा घमंड था। वे सभी मस्तकसे वेगपूर्वक मदकी धारा बहानेवाले हिमाचल-प्रदेशके गजराजोंकी भाँति उन्मत्त हो रहे थे
vaiśampāyana uvāca—janamejaya! te sarve navayuvaka-rājānaḥ nānābharaṇa-bhūṣitāḥ karṇeṣu kuṇḍala-dhāriṇaḥ parasparaṃ lāga-ḍāṃṭaṃ kurvāṇāḥ hastaiḥ astrāṇi śastrāṇi ca gṛhītvā svāsvāsanebhya utthātum ārabdhāḥ. teṣāṃ svātmani eva sarvottamā astravidyā balaṃ ca asti iti abhimānaḥ āsīt; sarveṣāṃ rūpa-parākrama-kula-śīla-dhana-yauvana-viṣaye mahān garvaḥ āsīt. te sarve himācala-pradeśe gajarājā iva mastakāt vegena mada-dhārāṃ sravantyāḥ pramattā babhūvuḥ.
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Janamejaya, all those youthful kings—adorned with many ornaments, wearing earrings, jostling and taunting one another—began to rise from their seats with weapons in hand. Each was convinced that he possessed the greatest mastery of arms and the greatest strength; all were swollen with pride in their beauty, valor, lineage, conduct, wealth, and youth. Like lordly elephants of the Himalayan region, with streams of rut flowing swiftly from their temples, they grew intoxicated and reckless.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how pride—especially pride in strength, skill, birth, wealth, and youth—leads to recklessness. The elephant-in-rut simile warns that unchecked arrogance intoxicates the mind and becomes a moral danger, pushing warriors toward needless conflict and adharma.
Vaiśampāyana describes a group of young kings rising from their seats with weapons, taunting one another and boasting of superiority. Their collective mood is one of competitive bravado and intoxicated confidence, compared to rutting elephants in the Himalayan region.