Shloka 50
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 29 — Arjuna’s defeat of Vṛṣaka–Acalā and the neutralization of Śakuni’s māyā
स हेममाली तपनीयभाण्डात् पपात नागाद् गिरिसंनिकाशात् | सुपुष्पितो मारुतवेगरुग्णो महीधराग्रादिव कर्णिकार:,सोनेके आभूषणोंसे विभूषित उस पर्वताकार हाथीसे सुवर्णमालाधारी भगदत्त पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़े, मानो सुन्दर पुष्पोंसे सुशोभित कनेरका वृक्ष हवाके वेगसे टूटकर पर्वतके शिखरसे नीचे गिर पड़ा हो
sa hemamālī tapanīyabhāṇḍāt papāta nāgād girisaṃnikāśāt | supuṣpito mārutavegarugṇo mahīdharāgrādiva karṇikāraḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Adorned with a golden garland, Bhagadatta fell to the earth from his mountain-like elephant, richly caparisoned with gold—like a karṇikāra tree in full bloom, snapped by the force of the wind, tumbling down from a mountain peak. The verse underscores the stark impermanence of martial glory: even the most splendidly arrayed warrior can be brought low in an instant amid the violence of war.
संजय उवाच