Mahabharata (Gita Press) 11.21.5 - Stree Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 5
अध्याय २१ — गान्धार्या वैकर्तनदर्शनम्
Gāndhārī’s Viewing of Vaikartana/Karṇa
शार्टूलमिव सिंहेन समरे सव्यसाचिना । मातड़मिव मत्तेन मातड्रेन निपातितम्
vaiśampāyana uvāca | śārṭūlam iva siṃhena samare savyasācinā | mātaṅgam iva mattena mātaṅgreṇa nipātitam ||
ವೈಶಂಪಾಯನನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಸಮರದಲ್ಲಿ ಸವ್ಯಸಾಚಿ ಅರ್ಜುನನು ಆ ವೀರನನ್ನು, ಸಿಂಹವು ಶಾರ್ದೂಲವನ್ನು ಕೆಡವುವಂತೆ, ಅಥವಾ ಮದೋನ್ಮತ್ತ ಗಜರಾಜನು ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಮಹಾಬಲ ಗಜವನ್ನು ನೆಲಕ್ಕುರುಳಿಸುವಂತೆ, ನಿಪಾತಿತನಾಗಿಸಿದನು।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim ethic of kṣatriya warfare: equals confront equals, and martial excellence becomes both glory and ruin. The similes intensify the sense that in war even the mightiest fall, foreshadowing the sorrow that defines the Strī Parva.
Vaiśampāyana describes a warrior being slain by Arjuna in battle, using two parallel comparisons—lion vs. tiger and rutting elephant vs. elephant—to convey the force and inevitability of the kill among great combatants.
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