Shloka 13
कृष्णेन अर्जुनस्य प्रोत्साहनम् — Kṛṣṇa’s Exhortation to Arjuna
Prelude to Karṇa’s Slaying
गजा गजान् समासाद्य विषाणैरार्दयन् नृप । विषाणाभिह्तास्तत्र भ्राजन्ते द्विरदास्तथा
gajā gajān samāsādya viṣāṇair ārdayan nṛpa | viṣāṇābhihatās tatra bhrājante dviradās tathā ||
サञ्जयは言った。王よ、象は象に迫り、牙で打ち据えた。牙に突かれながらも、その双牙の巨獣たちはなお戦場に輝きを放っていた——戦の容赦なき力の象徴であり、最も高貴な生きものさえ軍勢の激突のただ中で互いを傷つけるよう駆り立てられるのである。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grim momentum of war: even powerful and majestic beings are compelled into mutual injury. It invites reflection on the ethical cost of conflict—how violence spreads beyond human combatants and consumes all who are drawn into it.
Sañjaya reports battlefield action to the king: war-elephants charge and meet other elephants, goring and battering them with tusks; though wounded, the elephants are described as still appearing brilliant amid the clash.