Shloka 20
इन्द्रजिद्-लक्ष्मणयुद्धम्
Indrajit and Lakṣmaṇa: Escalation through Concealment
सुरथस्तं गजवरं वधाय नकुलस्य तु । प्रेषयामास सक्रोधमत्युच्छितकरं तत:,तब सुरथने कुपित होकर अत्यन्त ऊँचे सूँड़ उठाये हुए उस गजराजको नकुलका वध करनेके लिये प्रेरित किया
Surathas taṃ gajavaraṃ vadhāya Nakulasya tu | preṣayāmāsa sa-krodham atyucchita-karaṃ tataḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Then Suratha, seized by anger, dispatched that excellent elephant—its trunk raised high—ordering it to kill Nakula. The moment underscores how wrath can turn power into a weapon and drive one to commit adharma by directing violence against the righteous.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how krodha (anger) corrupts judgment and leads to adharma: a ruler’s misuse of force—directing a powerful animal toward murder—shows moral failure and the ethical danger of weaponizing power under passion.
Suratha, enraged, orders a formidable elephant with its trunk lifted high to attack and kill Nakula; Vaiśampāyana reports this as a decisive escalation toward violence against the Pāṇḍava.