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Shloka 5563

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 95 — Sātyaki’s Breakthrough and the Routing of Allied Contingents

प्रभिन्न इव मातज्रो मृदूनन्‌ नलवनं यथा । जैसे मदकी धारा बहानेवाला मतवाला हाथी नरकुलके जंगलोंको रौंदता चलता है, उसी प्रकार अर्जुन घोड़े, रथ और हाथियोंसहित सम्पूर्ण शत्रुओंका संहार करते हुए रणभूमिमें विचर रहे थे

sañjaya uvāca | prabhinna iva mātajñaḥ mṛdūnan nalavanaṃ yathā |

サンジャヤは言った。こめかみから液を滴らせる発情の狂象が葦の茂みを踏み荒らすように、アルジュナは戦場を縦横に駆け、敵軍をその馬・戦車・象もろとも滅ぼしつつ巡っていた。

प्रभिन्नःbursting forth; in rut (lit. split/opened)
प्रभिन्नः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootप्रभिन्न (प्र + √भिद्)
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
इवlike, as
इव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootइव
मातङ्गःelephant
मातङ्गः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootमातङ्ग
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
मृदून्soft, tender (ones)
मृदून्:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootमृदु
FormMasculine, Accusative, Plural
नलवनम्a thicket/forest of reeds (nalas)
नलवनम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootनलवन
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular
यथाas, just as
यथा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootयथा

संजय उवाच

S
Sañjaya
A
Arjuna
E
elephant (rut-maddened)
H
horses
C
chariots
E
elephants
B
battlefield

Educational Q&A

The verse highlights the terrifying effectiveness of martial power in a dharma-war: a warrior may act with sanctioned duty, yet the scale of destruction remains ethically weighty. It invites reflection on how dharma can demand fierce action while still acknowledging the human cost.

Sañjaya describes Arjuna moving through the battlefield and annihilating enemy forces—horses, chariots, and elephants—using a vivid simile of a rut-maddened elephant trampling a reed forest.