Shloka 526
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)
निपेतुरु्व्या च तथा विनदन्तो महारवान् | भरतनन्दन! कुछ गजराजोंके दाँत और सूँड़के अग्रभाग कट गये
sañjaya uvāca | nipetur urvyā ca tathā vinadanto mahāravān |
サञ्जयは語った。「そして彼らは大音声をあげて咆哮しつつ、大地に倒れ伏した。おお、バラタの末裔よ。ある象王たちは牙と鼻の先を斬り落とされ、こめかみは裂け、騎乗の者は討たれた。その有様で彼らはあちこちへ逃げ惑い、味方の陣列さえ踏み潰し、ついには—凄まじく叫びながら—地に崩れ落ちて死んだ。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores the brutal, uncontrollable fallout of war: once violence is unleashed, even powerful instruments like war-elephants become sources of indiscriminate destruction, harming friend and foe alike. It implicitly warns of the ethical cost and cascading suffering that accompany battle.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that wounded elephants—maimed in tusk and trunk, their temple-regions split and riders killed—panic and run in confusion, crushing their own troops. Finally, crying out loudly, they collapse to the earth and die.