Shloka 15
ते हेमपुड्खैरिषुभिरददिता हेममालिन: । हताः पेतुर्महानागा: साग्निज्वाला इवाद्रय:
te hemapuḍkhair iṣubhir adaditā hemamālinaḥ | hatāḥ petur mahānāgāḥ sāgnijvālā ivādrayaḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: Diseksa oleh anak panah yang batangnya dihias emas, gajah-gajah perang yang besar itu—berkalungkan untaian emas—telah terbunuh lalu rebah ke bumi bagaikan gunung-gunung yang diselubungi lidah-lidah api.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tragic irony of war: even the most magnificent and powerful beings—elephant-lords adorned with gold—are reduced to lifeless ruin. It implicitly warns that worldly splendor and strength are fragile when driven into adharma-filled violence, and that battle consumes both beauty and life.
Sañjaya describes a battlefield scene where great elephants, ornamented with gold, are struck and tormented by gold-adorned arrows. They are killed and collapse to the ground, compared poetically to mountains blazing with fire.