Shloka 13

Devanagari script

मत्तमातड्रसंकाशा लोहिताक्षा विभीषणा:

Transliteration

mattamātaṅga-saṅkāśā lohitākṣā vibhīṣaṇāḥ

Translation

मत्तमातङ्गसंकाशा लोहिताक्षा विभीषणाः॥

Word by Word

• मत्त: intoxicated, frenzied
• मत्त: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मत्त
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• मातङ्ग-संकाशाः: resembling elephants
• मातङ्ग-संकाशाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मातङ्ग-संकाश
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• लोहित-अक्षाः: red-eyed
• लोहित-अक्षाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लोहित-अक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• विभीषणाः: terrifying, dreadful
• विभीषणाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विभीषण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses a vivid simile—maddened elephants—to warn how war inflames the mind: when anger and bloodlust dominate, people become fearsome and lose the balance of dharma (self-restraint, compassion, and discernment).

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing the appearance and demeanor of fighters on the battlefield: they look red-eyed and dreadful, like rut-maddened elephants, emphasizing the terror and intensity of the ongoing combat in Droṇa Parva.