Shloka 396
नारायणास्त्र-शमनं द्रौणि-प्रहारश्च
Pacification of the Nārāyaṇāstra and Drauni’s Renewed Assault
तस्मिन्नेव पदे यत्ता निगृह्नन्ति सम भारत । भरतनन्दन! मदस्रावी विशाल हाथी मदकी धारा बहानेवाले दूसरे गजराजोंसे सहसा भिड़कर एक-दूसरेको यत्नपूर्वक काबूमें कर लेते थे
tasminneva pade yattā nigṛhṇanti sma bhārata | bharatanandana! madasrāvī viśāla-hastī mada-kī dhārā bahānevale dvitīya gajarājaiḥ sahasā bhiḍitvā anyonyaṃ yatnapūrvakaṃ kābūṃ meṃ kar lete sma |
तस्मिन्नेव पदे यत्ताः समरे, भारत, मदस्राविणो विशालगजाः। मदधाराप्रवाहिणोऽन्यैर्गजराजैः सह सहसा समभ्यपतन्, परस्परं च यत्नतः निगृह्णन्ति स्म।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the raw force and frenzy of war through the image of musth-elephants struggling to subdue one another; ethically, it underscores how battle amplifies overpowering impulses and the contest for control—both literal (restraining an opponent) and symbolic (the difficulty of restraint amid violence).
Sañjaya describes a moment in the battle where massive, rutting elephants collide with other great elephants and grapple intensely, each trying to overpower and restrain the other on the spot.