Shloka 28
Adhyāya 140: Rātriyuddhe Droṇa-prāpti-prayatnaḥ
Night engagement and the attempt to reach Droṇa
गजाभ्यां सम्प्रयुक्ता भ्यामासीन्नलवनं यथा । मेघजालनिभं सैन्यमासीत् तव नराधिप
sañjaya uvāca
gajābhyāṃ samprayuktābhyām āsīn nalavanaṃ yathā | meghajālanibhaṃ sainyam āsīt tava narādhipa ||
サञ्जयは言った。「大王よ、あなたの軍勢は、二頭の象に押し潰され踏み荒らされたかのような、密生する葦の藪に似ていた。さらにそれは、雲塊が幾重にも重なった巨大な群れのように—暗く、凝り固まり、圧倒するものとして見えた。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of worldly power in war: even a vast army can be crushed and rendered helpless when struck by concentrated force, reminding rulers that might and numbers do not guarantee security.
Sañjaya describes to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the appearance and condition of the king’s forces on the battlefield, using vivid similes—reed-thicket trampled by elephants and a dense bank of clouds—to convey their compact, overwhelmed state.