Shloka 716
युधिष्ठिरस्य धनंजय-प्रति गर्हा
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Reproach to Dhanaṃjaya
सारोहा निहता: पेतुर्वजभिन्ना इवाद्रय: । जैसे पर्वतोंके शिखर टूटकर निम्न देशसे लुढ़कते हुए नीचे गिर पड़ते हैं तथा जैसे वज्से विदीर्ण किये हुए पर्वत धराशायी हो जाते हैं, उसी प्रकार वहाँ मारे गये हाथी अपने सवारोंसहित पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़े
sārohā nihatāḥ petur vajrabhinna ivādrayaḥ |
Disse Sañjaya: Os elefantes, abatidos juntamente com seus cavaleiros, desabaram sobre a terra — como montanhas cujos picos se quebram e rolam para as baixadas, ou como penhascos fendidos por um raio e reduzidos à ruína. A imagem ressalta a força esmagadora da guerra: até os mais poderosos sustentáculos de um exército caem de súbito, e com eles aqueles que confiavam em sua altura e poder.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of worldly power in war: even the strongest instruments of dominance—war-elephants and their elevated riders—can be brought down in an instant. It implicitly warns against pride in might and status, emphasizing impermanence amid adharma-driven destruction.
Sañjaya describes a battlefield moment in which elephants, killed along with their riders, crash to the ground. He intensifies the scene through a simile: their fall resembles mountains shattered by a thunderbolt and collapsing from their heights.