Shloka 40
Adhyāya 74 (Book 6, Bhīṣma-parva): Bhīma–Duryodhana re-engagement and afternoon escalation
महाराज! उस युद्धमें कितने ही हाथियोंके द्वारा विशाल सर्पराजके समान सूँड़ोंसे खींचकर फेंके हुए रथोंके ध्वज और कूबर चूर-चूर होकर गिरते देखे जाते थे ।। विशीर्णरथसंघाश्न केशेष्वाक्षिप्य दन्तिभि: । ट्रमशाखा इवाविध्य निष्पिष्टा रथिनो रणे,कितने ही दन्तार हाथी रथसमूहोंको तोड़-फोड़कर उनमें बैठे हुए रथियोंको उनके केश पकड़कर खींच लेते और वृक्षकी शाखाकी भाँति उन्हें घुमाकर धरतीपर दे मारते थे। इस प्रकार उस युद्धमें उन रथियोंकी धज्जियाँ उड़ जाती थीं
sañjaya uvāca | mahārāja! tasmin yuddhe bahubhir dantibhir mahāsarpārāja-sadṛśaiḥ śuṇḍaiḥ kṛṣṭvā kṣiptānāṃ rathānāṃ dhvajāḥ kūbarāś ca cūrṇitāḥ patantīti dṛśyante sma | viśīrṇa-ratha-saṅghān keśeṣv ākṣipya dantibhiḥ | drumāśākhā iva āvidhya niṣpiṣṭā rathino raṇe ||
Sañjaya said: O King, in that battle one could see many chariots seized and hurled by elephants, their trunks like mighty serpent-kings; the chariots’ standards and yokes were smashed to pieces and fell. Elephants broke up whole clusters of chariots, caught the charioteers by their hair, whirled them like tree-branches, and dashed them to the ground—so that, in the fury of war, those warriors were utterly crushed. The passage underscores the brutal, dehumanizing force unleashed when martial power is driven by wrath rather than restraint.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unchecked martial force turns warriors into objects of destruction, reminding the listener that power without restraint collapses dignity and order; it implicitly warns that dharma is strained when violence becomes mere crushing might.
Sañjaya describes elephants rampaging through chariot formations: they smash chariots so that banners and yokes splinter, then seize chariot-warriors by the hair, whirl them, and fling them down, crushing them amid the chaos of battle.