Shloka 186
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 125: Duryodhana’s despair and vow after Jayadratha’s fall (जयद्रथवधे दुर्योधनविलापः)
त्रातारं नाध्यगच्छन्त पड़कमग्ना इव द्विपा: । जैसे कीचड़में फँसे हुए हाथियोंको कोई रक्षक नहीं मिलता है, उसी प्रकार समरांगणमें युयुधानकी मार खाते हुए आपके सैनिक कोई रक्षक न पा सके
trātāraṃ nādhyagacchanta paṅkamagnā iva dvipāḥ |
त्रातारं नाध्यगच्छन्त पङ्कमग्ना इव द्विपाः । युयुधानेन निहताः समरे तेऽभवन् नराः॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, the absence of effective protection and leadership turns even a large force into helpless victims; the ethical undertone is that power without refuge, coordination, and righteous support collapses under pressure.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava troops, struck by Yuyudhāna (Sātyaki) in the battle, could not find any defender—likened to elephants trapped in mud with no one to pull them out.