Shloka 643
अध्याय ६० — कर्णस्य पाञ्चाल-सोमक-निग्रहः
Karna’s Suppression of the Panchala–Somaka Forces
छादयामास समरे गजान् निघ्नन् वृकोदर: । जैसे इन्द्र वज्रके द्वारा असुरोंका संहार करते हैं
chādayāmāsa samare gajān nighnan vṛkodaraḥ | yathā indro vajrakeṇa asurān saṁharati tathā bhīmaseno hastibhir eva hastinaḥ jaghāna | tataḥ hastisaṁhāraṁ kurvan bhīmasenaḥ samara-bhūmau sva-bāṇa-saṁghaiḥ sarvam ākāśaṁ tathā chādayāmāsa yathā śalabha-gaṇaiḥ vṛkṣā ācchādyante |
Sañjaya disse: No auge da batalha, Vṛkodara (Bhīma) abatia elefantes e parecia velar o campo com eles. Assim como Indra, empunhando o vajra, destrói os asuras, do mesmo modo Bhīmasena matou elefantes por meio de elefantes. Depois, prosseguindo o massacre do corpo de elefantes, Bhīma cobriu todo o céu sobre o campo de guerra com saraivadas de flechas—como as árvores ficam ocultas quando enxames de gafanhotos pousam sobre elas.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the epic ideal of kṣatriya prowess expressed through overwhelming martial force, while also implicitly reminding the listener—through stark similes of mass destruction—of the grave moral weight carried by war and the catastrophic scale that adharma-driven conflict can unleash.
Sañjaya describes Bhīma in the Karṇa Parva battle: he is killing enemy elephants, even using elephants against elephants, and then unleashes such dense arrow-volleys that the sky over the battlefield appears covered—likened to trees hidden by swarms of locusts.