Shloka 20
दूसरे बहुत-से हाथी बाणोंसे व्यथित और घावोंसे पीड़ित हो भाग चले और कितने ही उस महासमरमें दोनों दाँतों और कुम्भस्थलोंको धरतीपर टेककर धराशायी हो गये ।। विनेदु: सिंहवच्चान्ये नदन्तो भैरवान् रवान् | बश्रमुर्बहवो राजं॑श्रुक्तुशुश्चापरे गजा:,राजन! दूसरे अनेक गजराज भयंकर गर्जना करते हुए सिंहके समान दहाड़ रहे थे और दूसरे बहुतेरे हाथी इधर-उधर चक्कर काटते और चीखते-चिल्लाते थे
dvitīyā bahavaḥ hastino bāṇair vyathitā vraṇaiś ca pīḍitāḥ palāyanta, kecid asmin mahāsamare ubhābhyāṃ dantābhyāṃ kumbhasthalaiś ca bhūmau nyasya nipetuḥ. vineduḥ siṃhavad anye nadanto bhairavān ravān; bhramur bahavo rājan, śruktūś ca apare gajāḥ.
Sañjaya said: Many other elephants, tormented by arrows and suffering from wounds, fled in panic; and some, in that great battle, collapsed to the ground, bracing themselves with both tusks and their frontal globes. Others roared like lions, bellowing dreadful cries; and many, O King, wandered about in confusion, while still others screamed and trumpeted. The scene underscores the moral cost of war: even the mighty, driven by fear and pain, are reduced to helplessness amid the chaos of violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the collateral suffering caused by war: even powerful creatures like war-elephants are broken by pain and fear. It implicitly critiques the dehumanizing (and de-animalizing) force of violence, reminding the listener that martial glory is inseparable from widespread anguish.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that many elephants, pierced by arrows and wounded, flee the battlefield; some collapse after bracing their tusks and temple-globes on the ground. Others roar like lions, while many stagger about in confusion and cry out loudly amid the tumult.