Shloka 41
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 29 — Arjuna’s defeat of Vṛṣaka–Acalā and the neutralization of Śakuni’s māyā
स समासाद्य तं नागं बाणो वज्ञ इवाचलम् | अभ्यगात् सह पुड्खेन वल्मीकमिव पन्नग:,वह नाराच उस हाथीके मस्तकपर पहुँचकर उसी प्रकार लगा, जैसे वज्र पर्वतपर चोट करता है। जैसे सर्प बाँबीमें समा जाता है, उसी प्रकार वह बाण हाथीके कुम्भस्थलमें पंखसहित घुस गया
sa samāsādya taṃ nāgaṃ bāṇo vajra ivācalam | abhyagāt saha puṅkhena valmīkam iva pannagaḥ ||
サンジャヤは言った。矢はその象に到り――山のごとく堅きものを――岩を打つ金剛の雷のように撃ち当てた。蛇が蟻塚へすべり込むように、その矢は羽根もろとも象のこめかみに深く沈み入った。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh reality of war: even the mightiest (an elephant ‘like a mountain’) can be swiftly undone by skilled, forceful violence. It implicitly cautions that power and size do not guarantee protection, and it frames battlefield success as a matter of precision and relentless force rather than moral merit.
An arrow reaches a war-elephant and penetrates its head/temple region with tremendous force. The poet uses two similes: the impact is like a thunderbolt striking a mountain, and the arrow’s entry is like a serpent disappearing into an anthill.