Shloka 20
Adhyāya 17 — गजयुद्ध-वृत्तान्तः, सहदेव-दुःशासन-संघर्षः, नकुल-कर्ण-समागमः
Elephant-battle account; Sahadeva–Duhshasana clash; Nakula–Karna encounter
अथ ड्िपं श्वेतवरा भ्रसंनि भं दिवाकरांशुप्रतिमै: शरोत्तमै: । बिभेद पार्थ: स पपात नादयन् हिमाद्रिकूटं कुलिशाहतं यथा,इसके बाद अर्जुनने श्वेत महामेघके समान सफेद रंगवाले उस हाथीको सूर्यकी किरणोंके सदृश तेजस्वी उत्तम बाणोंद्वारा विदीर्ण कर डाला। फिर तो वह वज्रके मारे हुए हिमालयके शिखरके समान धमाकेकी आवाजके साथ धराशायी हो गया
atha dvi-paṁ śvetavaraṁ bhrasaṁnibhaṁ divākarāṁśu-pratimaiḥ śarottamaiḥ | bibheda pārthaḥ sa papāta nādayan himādri-kūṭaṁ kuliśāhataṁ yathā ||
Sañjaya said: Then Pārtha (Arjuna) pierced that excellent white elephant—like a bright white cloud—with superb arrows blazing like the rays of the sun. Struck through, it crashed down with a thunderous roar, like a peak of the Himālaya shattered by Indra’s thunderbolt. The verse underscores the relentless force of war: prowess and precision bring swift destruction, while the similes evoke cosmic power to frame human violence within a larger, awe-inspiring order.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the overwhelming momentum of battle: skill and force can bring immediate ruin, and epic poetry frames this human act through cosmic imagery (sun-rays, Indra’s thunderbolt, the Himālaya), reminding the listener that war’s violence is vast in consequence and awe-inspiring in scale.
Sañjaya describes Arjuna striking a great white elephant with brilliant, powerful arrows. The elephant, pierced through, collapses with a tremendous roar, compared to a Himalayan peak felled by Indra’s thunderbolt.