Shloka 28
Bhīmasena’s Kalinga Engagement and the Approach of Bhīṣma (भीमसेन-कालिङ्ग-संग्रामः)
पुंस्त्वादतिमदत्वाच्च केचित् तत्र महागजा: । साश्वारोहान् हयाञ्जघ्नु: करै: सचरणैस्तथा
puṁstvād atimadattvāc ca kecit tatra mahāgajāḥ | sāśvārōhān hayān jaghnuḥ karaiḥ sacaraṇais tathā ||
संजय म्हणाला—तेथे काही महागज पुंस्त्वाच्या उन्मादाने व अतिमदाने सूंड व पायांनी घोडे आणि घोडेस्वार यांचा संहार करीत होते।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the dehumanizing momentum of war: once unleashed, martial power—here embodied by musth-maddened elephants—can become indiscriminate, crushing both rider and mount. It implicitly cautions that strength without restraint (saṁyama) turns into destructive excess.
Sañjaya describes a battlefield moment where powerful elephants, crazed with musth and aggression, kill horses and mounted warriors by striking with their trunks and trampling with their feet.