Shloka 716
युधिष्ठिरस्य धनंजय-प्रति गर्हा
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Reproach to Dhanaṃjaya
सारोहा निहता: पेतुर्वजभिन्ना इवाद्रय: । जैसे पर्वतोंके शिखर टूटकर निम्न देशसे लुढ़कते हुए नीचे गिर पड़ते हैं तथा जैसे वज्से विदीर्ण किये हुए पर्वत धराशायी हो जाते हैं
sārohā nihatāḥ petur vajrabhinna ivādrayaḥ |
サञ्जयは語った。騎乗の者もろとも討たれた象たちは、大地へと崩れ落ちた――峰が砕けて低地へ転げ落ちる山のように、あるいは雷霆に裂かれた岩山が倒壊するように。これは戦の圧倒的な破砕力を示す。軍の最強の支えでさえ忽ち倒れ、その高みと力に寄りかかっていた者もまた共に落ちるのである。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of worldly power in war: even the strongest instruments of dominance—war-elephants and their elevated riders—can be brought down in an instant. It implicitly warns against pride in might and status, emphasizing impermanence amid adharma-driven destruction.
Sañjaya describes a battlefield moment in which elephants, killed along with their riders, crash to the ground. He intensifies the scene through a simile: their fall resembles mountains shattered by a thunderbolt and collapsing from their heights.