Shloka 21
कर्णस्य दानप्रतिज्ञा–शल्योपदेश–वाक्ययुद्धम्
Karna’s Gift-Vows, Shalya’s Counsel, and the Battle of Words
विद्राव्य च बहूनश्वान् नागा राजन् मदोत्कटा: । विषाणैश्वापरे जघ्नुर्ममृदुश्चापरे भूशम्,राजन! कितने ही मदोन्मत्त हाथी भी बहुत-से घोड़ोंको खदेड़कर उन्हें दाँतोंसे दबाकर मार डालते अथवा वेगपूर्वक पैरोंसे कुचल डालते थे
vidrāvya ca bahūn aśvān nāgā rājan madotkaṭāḥ | viṣāṇaiś cāpare jaghnur mamṛduś cāpare bhūśam ||
സഞ്ജയൻ പറഞ്ഞു—രാജാവേ! മദോന്മത്തമായ ആനകൾ അനവധി കുതിരകളെ ഓടിച്ചു ചിതറിച്ചു; ചിലത് ദന്തങ്ങളാൽ കുത്തി ഞെരിച്ച് കൊന്നു, മറ്റുചിലത് പ്രബലവേഗത്തിൽ കാൽക്കീഴിൽ ചവിട്ടി ചതച്ചു.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is primarily descriptive, yet it implicitly highlights the dehumanizing and indiscriminate nature of war: even animals, driven by rut and battlefield chaos, become instruments of mass harm. It invites reflection on the ethical cost of conflict, where life is crushed by forces of frenzy and power rather than guided by dharma.
Sañjaya reports to the king that elephants, maddened with rut, are routing cavalry. Some kill horses by pressing and goring with their tusks; others trample them into the ground as they surge forward, intensifying the carnage on the battlefield.