Shloka 11

Devanagari script

स तयाभिहतो राजंस्तेन बाहुप्रमुक्तया । संजातरुधिरोत्पीड: पपात च ममार च,उसने उस उठायी हुई महाशक्तिको उस हाथीपर ही चला दिया। राजन्‌! घटोत्कचकी भुजाओंसे छूटी हुई उस शक्तिके आघातसे हाथीका कुम्भस्थल फट गया और उससे रक्तका स्रोत बहने लगा। फिर वह तत्काल ही भूमिपर गिरा और मर गया

Transliteration

sa tayābhihato rājan tena bāhupramuktayā | sañjātarudhirotpīḍaḥ papāta ca mamāra ca ||

Translation

Sanjaya said: O King, struck by that mighty weapon hurled from the arm, the elephant’s temples burst and a gush of blood poured forth. It collapsed to the ground at once and died—showing how, in the fury of war, even the strongest bodies and proud mounts are rendered helpless by a single, well-aimed act of violence.

Word by Word

सःhe

तयाby that (weapon)

अभिहतःhaving been struck

राजन्O king

तेनby that

बाहु-प्रमुक्तयाreleased from the arm

संजात-रुधिर-उत्पीडःwith a gush/pressure of blood arisen

पपातfell

चand

ममारdied

चand

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (addressed as rājan)

elephant (gaja; implied as the one struck)

śakti (javelin/spear; implied by context of a hurled weapon)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the stark reality of war: strength, status, and even formidable war-mounts cannot withstand the consequences of violent action. It implicitly warns that warfare rapidly reduces living beings to vulnerability and death, highlighting the grave ethical weight carried by combatants under kṣatriya-dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that an elephant is struck by a weapon hurled from an opponent’s arm; its temples burst, blood gushes out, and it falls and dies immediately.