Shloka 30
Adhyāya 104 — Śikhaṇḍin-puraskāraḥ (Śikhaṇḍin as Vanguard) and Bhīṣma’s Counter-Advance
आर्जुनि: समरे सैन्यं तावकं सम्ममर्द ह | मदान्धो गन्धनागेन्द्र: सपड्मां पिशेनीमिव,मायाद्वारा युद्ध करनेवाले उस राक्षसके पराजित हो जानेपर अर्जुनकुमार अभिमन्युने तुरंत ही रणक्षेत्रमें आपकी सेनाका उसी प्रकार मर्दन आरम्भ किया, जैसे गन्धयुक्त मदान्ध गजराज कमलोंसे भरी हुई पुष्करिणीको मथ डालता है
sañjaya uvāca | arjuniḥ samare sainyaṃ tāvakaṃ sammamarda ha | madāndho gandhanāgendraḥ sapadmāṃ puṣkariṇīm iva |
サञ्जयは言った。激戦のただ中で、アルジュニ――アルジュナの子アビマンニュは、ただちに汝の軍勢を踏み砕き始めた。香気をまとい、発情の狂気に酔う象王が、蓮に満ちた湖をかき乱すように、彼は猛然と隊列を破り、ダルマに鍛えられながらも戦の必然に駆られる武人の凄烈な勢いを示した。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma in its narrative form: disciplined martial prowess used decisively in war. Ethically, it underscores how duty-driven combat can be portrayed as forceful yet purposeful, framed through poetic imagery rather than moral celebration of violence for its own sake.
After a māyā-based (deceptive/illusory) fighter is overcome (as indicated by the accompanying Hindi gloss), Abhimanyu immediately begins to rout and crush the Kaurava forces on the battlefield, compared to a rut-maddened elephant churning a lotus-filled pond.