Shloka 19
Adhyāya 17 — गजयुद्ध-वृत्तान्तः, सहदेव-दुःशासन-संघर्षः, नकुल-कर्ण-समागमः
Elephant-battle account; Sahadeva–Duhshasana clash; Nakula–Karna encounter
तथार्धचन्द्रेण हतं किरीटिना पपात दण्डस्य शिर:ः क्षितिं द्विपात् । तच्छोणितादे निपतद् विरेजे दिवाकरोडस्तादिव पश्चिमां दिशम्,तत्पश्चात् किरीटधारी अर्जुनके चलाये हुए अर्थचन्द्रसे कटकर दण्डका मस्तक हाथीसे पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़ा। उस समय खूनसे लथपथ हो गिरता हुआ वह मस्तक अस्ताचलसे पश्चिम दिशाकी ओर डूबते हुए सूर्यके समान शोभायमान हुआ
tathārdhacandreṇa hataṃ kirīṭinā papāta daṇḍasya śiraḥ kṣitiṃ dvipāt | tacchoṇitārde nipatad vireje divākaro 'stād iva paścimāṃ diśam ||
Sañjaya said: Struck by Arjuna—the diademed warrior—with a crescent-shaped arrow, Daṇḍa’s head was severed and fell from his elephant onto the earth. As it dropped, drenched in blood, it shone like the sun sinking in the west beyond the setting mountain—an image of grim splendor amid the violence of battle.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s ethical tension: even when a warrior acts within kṣatriya-dharma (skillful combat in a justly undertaken war), the outcome remains starkly tragic. The poet’s sunset simile frames victory as momentarily radiant yet inseparable from bloodshed and impermanence.
Sañjaya reports that Arjuna strikes Daṇḍa with an ardhacandra (crescent-shaped arrow), severing his head. The head falls from the elephant to the ground, and its blood-soaked descent is compared to the sun setting in the western sky.