Shloka 27
भीष्मरथाभिमुख्यं — Arjuna’s advance with Śikhaṇḍin; Duḥśāsana’s interception
तथैव दन्तिभिहीना गजारोहा विशाम्पते । प्रधावन्तो 5न्वदृश्यन्त तव तेषां च संकुले,प्रजानाथ! इसी प्रकार हाथियोंसे रहित हाथीसवार भी आपके और पाण्डवोंके भयानक युद्धमें इधर-उधर दौड़ते दिखायी देते थे
tathaiva dantibhir hīnā gajārohā viśāmpate | pradhāvanto 'nvadṛśyanta tava teṣāṃ ca saṅkule, prajānātha ||
Sañjaya said: “In the same way, O lord of the people, elephant-riders who had been separated from their elephants were seen running about in confusion amid that dense and dreadful clash between your forces and theirs.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the dehumanizing confusion of war: even specialized warriors (elephant-riders) become helpless and scattered when their supports collapse, illustrating how battle reduces order, skill, and status into mere survival amid turmoil.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that elephant-riders, having lost their elephants, were visibly rushing about in the crowded mêlée between the Kaurava and Pāṇḍava forces, adding to the picture of a chaotic battlefield.