Shloka 49
Droṇa–Arjuna Yuddha; Trigarta-Āvaraṇa; Bhīmasena Gajānīka-bheda
Droṇa and Arjuna Engage; Trigarta Containment; Bhīma Breaks the Elephant Corps
उपावृत्तमद: क्षिप्रमभ्यवर्तत वेगित: । भरतश्रेष्ठ! उन तोमरोंसे अत्यन्त घायल हो वह हाथी व्यथित हो उठा। उसका सारा मद उतर गया और वह बड़े वेगसे पीछेकी ओर लौट पड़ा || ४८ ई || स प्रदुद्राव वेगेन प्रणदन् भैरवं रवम्
sañjaya uvāca | upāvṛttamadaḥ kṣipram abhyavartata vegitaḥ | bharataśreṣṭha! un tomarair atyanta-ghāyalo sa hastī vyathito 'bhavat | tasya sarvo madaḥ apāgacchat, sa ca mahāvegena pṛṣṭhato nivavṛte || 48 || sa pradudrāva vegena praṇadan bhairavaṃ ravam || 49 ||
Sañjaya disse: «Ó melhor dos Bhāratas, o elefante — com o seu madā (o furor do cio) subitamente esgotado — voltou-se de pronto e recuou apressado. Ferido e gravemente atingido pelas lanças tomara, estremeceu de dor; toda a sua fúria embriagada se dissipou, e ele girou para bater em retirada a grande velocidade. Então fugiu velozmente, soltando um bramido terrível.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores a battlefield ethic of cause-and-effect: even great strength and fury (mada) collapse when met with decisive injury and pain. It highlights the fragility of pride and the immediate moral cost of violence—terror, suffering, and flight—within the dharmic frame of war narration.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that an elephant, badly wounded by tomara-spears, loses its musth and turns back. In pain and panic it retreats rapidly, fleeing while trumpeting a frightening cry.