Shloka 11
भीष्मरक्षण-उद्योगः, शिखण्डि-विवर्जनं, सर्वतोभद्र-व्यूहः
Protection of Bhīṣma, Exemption of Śikhaṇḍin, and the Sarvatobhadra Array
स तयाभिहतो राजंस्तेन बाहुप्रमुक्तया । संजातरुधिरोत्पीड: पपात च ममार च,उसने उस उठायी हुई महाशक्तिको उस हाथीपर ही चला दिया। राजन्! घटोत्कचकी भुजाओंसे छूटी हुई उस शक्तिके आघातसे हाथीका कुम्भस्थल फट गया और उससे रक्तका स्रोत बहने लगा। फिर वह तत्काल ही भूमिपर गिरा और मर गया
sa tayābhihato rājan tena bāhupramuktayā | sañjātarudhirotpīḍaḥ papāta ca mamāra ca ||
Disse Sañjaya: Ó rei, o elefante, atingido por aquela arma poderosa arremessada do braço, teve as têmporas rompidas e o sangue jorrou. No mesmo instante tombou ao chão e morreu.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the stark reality of war: strength, status, and even formidable war-mounts cannot withstand the consequences of violent action. It implicitly warns that warfare rapidly reduces living beings to vulnerability and death, highlighting the grave ethical weight carried by combatants under kṣatriya-dharma.
Sanjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that an elephant is struck by a weapon hurled from an opponent’s arm; its temples burst, blood gushes out, and it falls and dies immediately.