Shloka 42

Adhyāya 74 (Book 6, Bhīṣma-parva): Bhīma–Duryodhana re-engagement and afternoon escalation

Devanagari script

तेषां तथा कर्षतां तु गजानां रूपमाबभौ | सर:सु नलिनीजालं विषक्तमिव कर्षताम्‌

Transliteration

teṣāṃ tathā karṣatāṃ tu gajānāṃ rūpam ābabhau | saraḥsu nalinījālaṃ viṣaktam iva karṣatām ||

Translation

अशा रीतीने ओढत असलेल्या त्या हत्तींचे रूप असे भासत होते, जणू सरोवरात कमळनाळ्यांचे जाळे गुंतून ओढले जात आहे.

Word by Word

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• तथा: thus, in that manner
• तथा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• कर्षताम्: of (those) dragging/pulling
• कर्षताम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृष्
• Form: Present active participle (शतृ), Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• तु: but, indeed
• तु: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• गजानाम्: of the elephants
• गजानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गज
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• रूपम्: appearance, form
• रूपम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: रूप
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• आबभौ: shone, appeared
• Type: Verb
• Root: भा
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• सरःसु: in lakes/ponds
• सरःसु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Plural

• नलिनीजालम्: a mass/net of lotuses
• नलिनीजालम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नलिनी-जाल
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• विषक्तम्: clinging, stuck, entangled
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि-षञ्ज्
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• इव: like, as if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• कर्षताम्: of (those) dragging/pulling
• कर्षताम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृष्
• Form: Present active participle (शतृ), Masculine, Genitive, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• elephants (gaja)
• lakes/ponds (saras)
• lotus-net/mass (nalinījāla)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how even great power can be checked by entanglement and adverse conditions; in war, strength alone does not guarantee freedom of action, and confusion can bind the mighty like a net.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes elephants in the battle struggling as they pull and strain; their clustered, hindered movement is compared to lotus-stalks tangled together in a lake.