Shloka 20
कृष्णेन अर्जुनस्य प्रोत्साहनम् — Kṛṣṇa’s Exhortation to Arjuna
Prelude to Karṇa’s Slaying
दूसरे बहुत-से हाथी बाणोंसे व्यथित और घावोंसे पीड़ित हो भाग चले और कितने ही उस महासमरमें दोनों दाँतों और कुम्भस्थलोंको धरतीपर टेककर धराशायी हो गये ।।
dvitīyā bahavaḥ hastino bāṇair vyathitā vraṇaiś ca pīḍitāḥ palāyanta, kecid asmin mahāsamare ubhābhyāṃ dantābhyāṃ kumbhasthalaiś ca bhūmau nyasya nipetuḥ. vineduḥ siṃhavad anye nadanto bhairavān ravān; bhramur bahavo rājan, śruktūś ca apare gajāḥ.
サञ्जयは語った。「他の多くの象たちは、矢に苦しめられ傷に苛まれて、恐慌のうちに逃げ散った。さらにその大合戦のさなか、両の牙と額の隆起（クンバスタラ）を地に突き立てて身を支えながら、ついには大地に崩れ落ちたものもいた。ある者は獅子のごとく咆哮し、身の毛もよだつ叫びを放った。王よ、また多くは混乱の中をさまよい、ほかの者は悲鳴を上げ、鼻を鳴らして喇叭の声を響かせた。この光景は戦の道義的代償を示す。強大なるものさえ、恐れと痛みに駆られ、暴力の混沌の中で無力へと貶められるのだ。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the collateral suffering caused by war: even powerful creatures like war-elephants are broken by pain and fear. It implicitly critiques the dehumanizing (and de-animalizing) force of violence, reminding the listener that martial glory is inseparable from widespread anguish.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that many elephants, pierced by arrows and wounded, flee the battlefield; some collapse after bracing their tusks and temple-globes on the ground. Others roar like lions, while many stagger about in confusion and cry out loudly amid the tumult.