Shloka 22
Chapter 12: Arjuna’s suppression of the Saṃśaptakas and duel with Aśvatthāmā
Drauṇi
स नागप्रवरो>त्युग्रो विधिवत् कल्पितो बभौ । उदयाद्रयग्रयभवनं यथाभ्युदितभास्करम्
sa nāgapravaro ’tyugro vidhivat kalpito babhau | udayādri-agra-bhavanaṃ yathābhyudita-bhāskaram || śambarasya śiro yadvan nihatasya mahāraṇe | śocayan kekayān sarvān jagāmāśu vasuṃdharām ||
サञ्जयは言った。その第一の象は—猛々しく恐るべきもの—法と規矩に従って整えられ、日の出のときウダヤ山の最も高き峰が輝くように、まばゆく見えた。ついでその大合戦において、宝で飾られたアヌヴィンダの大いなる首は斬り落とされて落下し、討たれた阿修羅シャンバラの首に似ていた。そしてそれがたちまち地に触れるや、ケーカヤの者すべてを悲嘆へと沈めた。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical weight of war: even when martial duty is fulfilled with proper order and prowess, the outcome is marked by irreversible loss. The fall of a leader brings collective sorrow, reminding the listener that victory and splendor in battle are inseparable from grief and impermanence.
Sañjaya describes a fearsome, properly arrayed war-elephant shining like a sunrise-lit peak. He then reports that in the great battle Anuvinda’s ornamented head is cut off and falls to the earth, likened to the slain demon Śambara’s head, causing all the Kekayas to mourn.