Shloka 196
Adhyāya 108 — Nimitta-darśana and Drona’s counsel amid Arjuna’s advance (निमित्तदर्शनं द्रोणोपदेशश्च)
नागैरिव महानागा यथावद् गिरिगद्नरे । महाराज! उन सुदृढ़ धनुर्धरोंद्वारा मारे गये वे घुड़सवार रणभूमिमें उसी प्रकार गिरते थे, जैसे पर्वतोंकी कन्दरामें बड़े-बड़े हाथी हाथियोंसे ही मारे जाकर गिरते हैं
nāgair iva mahānāgā yathāvad girigahvare | mahārāja! taiḥ sudṛḍha-dhanurdharaiḥ hatāḥ te aśvārūḍhā raṇabhūmau tathā nipetūḥ, yathā parvatakandarāsu mahāgajāḥ gajair eva hatāḥ patanti ||
Sañjaya disse: “Ó grande rei, aqueles cavaleiros, abatidos pelos arqueiros firmes, tombavam no campo de batalha como tombam grandes elefantes, mortos por outros elefantes, nas cavernas das montanhas.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh symmetry of warfare: power confronts power, and even the mighty fall when met by equal or greater force. Ethically, it points to the inevitability of consequences in violent conflict and the fragility of embodied strength.
Sañjaya describes to Dhṛtarāṣṭra how horsemen, killed by strong archers, are falling on the battlefield. He intensifies the scene through a simile: like great elephants felled by other elephants in mountain caverns.