Shloka 186
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 125: Duryodhana’s despair and vow after Jayadratha’s fall (जयद्रथवधे दुर्योधनविलापः)
त्रातारं नाध्यगच्छन्त पड़कमग्ना इव द्विपा: । जैसे कीचड़में फँसे हुए हाथियोंको कोई रक्षक नहीं मिलता है, उसी प्रकार समरांगणमें युयुधानकी मार खाते हुए आपके सैनिक कोई रक्षक न पा सके
trātāraṃ nādhyagacchanta paṅkamagnā iva dvipāḥ |
サンジャヤは言った。「戦場でユユダーナに討たれゆく汝の兵は、守り手を得られなかった。泥濘に沈んだ象が救い手を見いだせぬように。」この譬えは、戦の混乱の中で支えと統率が崩れ、拠り所なき勇気が無力へと変わるさまを示している。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, the absence of effective protection and leadership turns even a large force into helpless victims; the ethical undertone is that power without refuge, coordination, and righteous support collapses under pressure.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava troops, struck by Yuyudhāna (Sātyaki) in the battle, could not find any defender—likened to elephants trapped in mud with no one to pull them out.