Shloka 20
वज्रदत्तेन सह अर्जुनयुद्धम्
Arjuna’s engagement with Vajradatta during the Aśvamedha circuit
स तैर्विद्धो महानागो विस्रवन् रुधिरं वभौ । गैरिकाक्तमिवाम्भोडडद्रिरबहुप्रस्रवणं तदा,उन बाणोंसे घायल होकर वह महानाग खूनकी धारा बहाने लगा। उस समय वह गेरूमिश्रित जलकी धारा बहानेवाले अनेक झरनोंसे युक्त पर्वतके समान जान पड़ता था
sa tair viddho mahānāgo visravan rudhiraṃ vabhau | gairikāktaṃ ivāmbhoda-drir bahu-prasravaṇaṃ tadā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Pierced by those arrows, the mighty elephant began to pour forth streams of blood. At that moment he appeared like a rain-bearing mountain, streaked with red ochre, from which many springs gush—an image that heightens the pathos of violence and the stark cost of martial action.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the tangible suffering produced by warfare: even when battle is framed within kṣatriya-duty, its immediate reality is pain and bloodshed. The poet’s vivid simile invites ethical reflection on the cost of violence rather than glorifying it.
An elephant, struck by multiple arrows, bleeds profusely. The narrator compares the blood streaming from its wounds to a rain-cloud mountain with many springs, visually intensifying the scene’s brutality.