Shloka 463
प्राहिणोत् तस्य नागस्य प्रमुखे नृपसत्तम । नृपश्रेष्ठी तदनन्तर प्राग्ज्योतिषनरेशने कुपित होकर दशार्णनरेशके हाथीको सामनेसे चौदह तोमर मारे
sañjaya uvāca | prāhiṇot tasya nāgasya pramukhe nṛpasattama | nṛpaśreṣṭhī tadanantaraṁ prāgjyotiṣanareśena kupitaḥ daśārṇanareśake hastīko sāmane se caturdaśa tomara māre |
Sañjaya said: O best of kings, he hurled (weapons) at the forefront of that elephant. Then, the foremost of rulers—the king of Prāgjyotiṣa—angered, struck the Daśārṇa king’s elephant from the front with fourteen javelins. The scene underscores the escalating fury of battle, where wrath drives warriors to intensify violence, testing restraint and righteous conduct amid war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger (krodha) escalates violence in war; it implicitly warns that even in righteous battle, loss of restraint can intensify cruelty and cloud dharmic judgment.
Sañjaya describes a combat moment where the king of Prāgjyotiṣa, enraged, strikes the Daśārṇa king’s elephant head-on with fourteen javelins, intensifying the clash involving war-elephants.