Shloka 65
अस्त्रयुद्धे द्रौणिपार्थसंघर्षः — Karṇa’s Bhārgavāstra and the Search for Yudhiṣṭhira
Chapter 45
एते पर्वतशुड्भराणां तुल्यरूपा हता द्विपा: । संछिन्नभिन्ना: पार्थेन प्रपतन्त्यद्रयो यथा,'ये पर्ववशिखरोंके समान विशालकाय हाथी अर्जुनके द्वारा मारे जाकर छिन्न-भिन्न हो पर्वतोंके समान धराशायी हो रहे हैं
ete parvataśṛṅgabhārāṇāṃ tulyarūpā hatā dvipāḥ | saṃchinnabhinnāḥ pārthena prapatanty adrayo yathā ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Gajah-gajah itu—besar menjulang seperti puncak gunung—telah dibunuh oleh Pārtha (Arjuna). Dibelah dan dihancurkan oleh anak panahnya, mereka rebah ke bumi seperti bongkah batu runtuh dari gunung.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the terrible scale of war and the overwhelming power wielded by a warrior acting within kṣatriya-duty. It invites reflection on how martial excellence, though dharmically sanctioned in context, produces immense destruction that the epic repeatedly frames with awe and gravity.
Sanjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Arjuna (Partha) is cutting down massive war-elephants. Struck and dismembered, they topple like rocks or mountain-peaks collapsing—an image meant to convey both Arjuna’s force and the battlefield’s catastrophic violence.