Shloka 61
Arjuna’s Advance toward Bhīṣma; The Gāṇḍīva’s Signal and the Armies’ Convergence (भीष्माभिमुखगमनम् — गाण्डीवनिर्घोष-ध्वजवर्णनम्)
परिपेतु: सुसंरब्धाश्षतुर्वष्टा श्वतुर्दिशम् । महाबली राक्षसोंद्वारा प्रेरित अन्यान्य दिग्गज भी जिनके चार-चार दाँत थे, अत्यन्त कुपित हो चारों दिशाओंमें टूट पड़े |। ६० हू ।। भगदत्तस्य तं नागं विषाणैरभ्यपीडयन्,वे सब-के-सब भगदत्तके हाथीको अपने दाँतोंसे पीड़ा देने लगे। वह बाणोंसे बहुत घायल हो चुका था; अतः इन हाथियोंद्वारा पीड़ित होनेपर वेदनासे व्याकुल हो बड़े जोर- जोरसे चीत्कार करने लगा। उसकी आवाज इन्द्रके वज्रकी गड़गड़ाहटके समान जान पड़ती थी
sañjaya uvāca | paripetuḥ susaṃrabdhāś caturdaṃṣṭrāś caturdiśam | mahābalī rākṣasair dvārā preritā anyāny diggajāḥ | bhagadattasya taṃ nāgaṃ viṣāṇair abhyapīḍayan | te sarve bhagadattasya hastinaṃ dantair pīḍayām āsuḥ | sa bāṇair bahuviddhaḥ san ebhir gajaiḥ pīḍitaḥ vedanābhibhūto mahānādaṃ cakāra | tasya śabda indrasya vajragarjitasamaḥ pratibhāti |
Sañjaya said: Enraged and driven into a frenzy, the four-tusked elephants charged in all four directions, urged on by mighty rākṣasas. They pressed upon Bhagadatta’s elephant with their tusks and horns, tormenting it on every side. Already pierced by many arrows, the great beast, overwhelmed by pain under the assault of the other elephants, cried out with tremendous force—its roar seeming like the thunder of Indra’s vajra. The scene underscores the brutal momentum of war, where even noble strength becomes an instrument of suffering when driven by wrath and hostile incitement.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how rage and external incitement can turn strength into cruelty, producing widespread suffering. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical horizon, battlefield prowess is not celebrated in isolation; it is shown alongside its cost—pain, loss of control, and the dehumanizing momentum of war.
Sañjaya describes a surge of war-elephants—four-tusked and maddened—driven by rākṣasas, charging in all directions and attacking Bhagadatta’s elephant. Already wounded by arrows, Bhagadatta’s elephant is further tormented by tusks and horns and roars in agony, its cry likened to Indra’s thunder.