Shloka 233
मातड़ इव मातड़ं यूथर्षभमिवर्ष भ: । जैसे एक यूथपति गजराजका सामना करनेके लिये दूसरे यूथका अधिपति गजराज चढ़ आता है, उसी प्रकार बाणोंकी वर्षा करते हुए घटोत्कचपर बाणोंकी बौछार करते हुए कर्णने उसके ऊपर निकटसे आक्रमण किया
mātaṅga iva mātaṅgaṁ yūtharṣabham iva vṛṣabhaḥ | yathāikaḥ yūthapatiḥ gajarājaḥ anyasya yūthādhipateḥ gajarājasya samāgamaṁ kartum abhyeti, tathā bāṇavarṣaṁ kurvan ghaṭotkace bāṇabauṣāraṁ nipātayan karṇaḥ tasya upari nikatataḥ abhyakrāmat |
サンジャヤは言った。「猛き象が猛き象に突進するように、群れの主たる牡牛が競う首領に挑むように、カルナはガトートカチャへ間合いを詰めて迫った。濃密な矢の雨を浴びせつつ攻めを強め、戦場の恐るべき猛攻を食い止めんとした。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the battlefield ethic of kṣatriya-dharma: when a formidable and potentially overwhelming force arises, a responsible champion must confront it directly, using disciplined strength to protect the larger army. It also illustrates how epic poetry uses animal similes to convey intensity, dominance, and the inevitability of violent encounter in war.
Sañjaya describes Karṇa advancing very close to Ghaṭotkaca and attacking him with a heavy barrage of arrows. The comparison is to rival leaders among elephants or bulls charging one another—signaling a decisive, head-on clash between two powerful combatants.