Shloka 52
Bhūriśravas–Sātyaki Saṃvāda and Duel; Arjuna’s Intervention (भूरिश्रवाः–सात्यकि संवादः, युद्धम्, अर्जुन-हस्तक्षेपः)
वसुंधराधराद् भ्रष्टी पज्चशीर्षाविवोरगौ । उसकी वे परिघके समान मोटी भुजाएँ उस गजराजकी पीठसे नीचे गिर पड़ीं, मानो पर्वतसे पाँच-पाँच मस्तकोंवाले दो नाग पृथ्वीपर गिरे हों ।। ५१ $ ।। तत: सुदष्ट्रं सुमहच्चारुकुण्डलमण्डितम्
vasuṃdharādharād bhraṣṭī pañcaśīrṣāv ivoragau | tasya ve parigha-samānā moṭī bhujā gajarājasya pīṭhataḥ adho nipetatuḥ, yathā parvatāt pañca-pañca-mastakau dvau nāgau pṛthivyāṃ patitau ||
वसुंधराधराद् भ्रष्टे पञ्चशीर्षाविवोरगौ । ततः सुदंष्ट्रं सुमहच्चारुकुण्डलमण्डितम् ॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of bodily power and martial pride: even the mightiest can fall suddenly in war. The vivid simile serves as a moral reminder of impermanence and the destructive unpredictability of violence.
Sañjaya describes a battlefield moment where a warrior’s heavy arms slip and fall from the back of a great elephant, compared to two five-headed serpents tumbling from a mountain—signaling a dramatic collapse or death amid combat.