Shloka 38
Daśame’hani Bhīṣma-yuddham — Śikhaṇḍī-rakṣaṇa, Arjuna-prabhāva, Duryodhana-āśraya-vākyam
एवं ते वध्यमानाक्ष हतशेषा महागजा: । प्राद्रवन्त दिशो राजन् विमृद्नन्त: स्वकं बलम्,राजन्! इस प्रकार भीमसेनकी मार खाकर मरनेसे बचे हुए महान् गज अपनी ही सेनाको रौंदते हुए सम्पूर्ण दिशाओंमें भागने लगे
evaṁ te vadhyamānākṣa hataśeṣā mahāgajāḥ | prādravan diśo rājan vimṛdnantaḥ svakaṁ balam ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Demikianlah, wahai raja, gajah-gajah perkasa itu—yang tinggal bersisa setelah dihentam dan ditumbangkan—melarikan diri ke segala penjuru. Dalam panik, mereka memijak-mijak bala tentera sendiri, menjadikan kekalahan lari itu semakin membawa kebinasaan.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how fear and disorder in war magnify suffering: once discipline breaks, even one’s own strength becomes a source of harm, showing the ethical cost of violence and the importance of steadiness and command.
After being struck down, the surviving great elephants panic and flee in all directions, and in their stampede they crush their own side’s troops, worsening the defeat.