Shloka 16
कृष्णेन अर्जुनस्य प्रोत्साहनम् — Kṛṣṇa’s Exhortation to Arjuna
Prelude to Karṇa’s Slaying
कितने ही हाथी घुड़सवारोंके छोड़े हुए तोमरों तथा अनेक विपक्षियोंको भी सूँड़ोंसे पकड़कर रणभूमिमें विचरते थे तथा दूसरे उनको टुकड़े-टुकड़े कर डालते थे ।।
nārācaiś chinnavarmāṇo bhrājanti sma gajottamāḥ | himāgame yathā rājan vyabhrā iva mahīdharāḥ ||
Sanjaya berkata: Wahai raja, ada gajah yang menangkap dengan belalai tombak tomara yang dilemparkan para penunggang kuda, bahkan ramai musuh, lalu berkeliaran di medan perang; yang lain pula mengoyak mereka hingga berkeping-keping. Dan gajah-gajah terunggul, meski perisai dan zirahnya terpotong serta terkoyak oleh anak panah nārāca, tetap bersinar di medan laga—bagaikan gunung pada musim dingin, tampak jernih dan gemilang ketika langit bebas awan.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the paradox of battlefield ‘splendour’: even when armour is destroyed and life is exposed to mortal danger, warriors and war-elephants continue forward. It implicitly warns that worldly protections are fragile, while also reflecting the kṣatriya ideal of steadfastness amid suffering—an ethically complex endurance within a destructive enterprise.
Sanjaya describes the Kurukṣetra fighting to Dhṛtarāṣṭra. War-elephants, struck by nārāca arrows that slice their armour, still appear radiant. Their appearance is compared to cloudless mountains in the cold season—clear, stark, and imposing—intensifying the visual drama of the battle.