Mahabharata 4.32.3 — Virata Parva, Adhyaya 32, Shloka 3
Virāṭa Rescued from Suśarmā; Night Battle and Royal Gratitude (विराटमोक्षणं सुशर्मवधाभिमुखं च)
भीमाश्च मत्तमातड्रास्तोमराड्कुशनोदिता: । ग्रामणीयै: समारूढा: कुशलैहस्तिसादिभि:
bhīmāś ca mattamātaṅgāḥ tomarāṅkuśanoditāḥ | grāmaṇīyaiḥ samārūḍhāḥ kuśalair hastisādibhiḥ ||
Disse Vaiśampāyana: Incitados pelos golpes de lanças e pelo aguilhão, elefantes poderosos, enlouquecidos pelo furor do cio—montados por hábeis cavaleiros e conduzidos por eminentes mahouts—avançaram de ambos os lados e chocaram-se uns contra os outros. O tumulto daquela batalha de elefantes, enquanto os cavaleiros se feriam com armas, era aterrador, fazia arrepiar e podia causar grande mortandade.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical peril of war: even disciplined expertise (skilled riders, controlled elephants) can become catastrophic when combined with rage and force, leading to indiscriminate slaughter and terror.
Two opposing sides deploy musth elephants. Driven forward with lances and goads and mounted by expert riders, the elephants collide from both sides, and the mounted warriors exchange weapon-strikes amid a deafening, frightening melee.
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