Shloka 36
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 95 — Sātyaki’s Breakthrough and the Routing of Allied Contingents
शरै: सहस्रशो विद्धा द्विपा: प्रसृतशोणिता: । अदृश्यन्ताद्रय: काले गैरिकाम्बुस्रवा इव,सहस्रों बाणोंसे बिंधकर खूनकी धारा बहाते हुए हाथी वर्षाकालमें गेरुमिश्रित जलके झरने बहानेवाले पर्वतोंके समान दिखायी देते थे
śaraiḥ sahasraśo viddhā dvipāḥ prasṛtaśoṇitāḥ | adṛśyantādrayaḥ kāle gairikāmbusravā iva ||
शरैः सहस्रशो विद्धा द्विपाः प्रसृतशोणिताः । अदृश्यन्ताद्रयः काले गैरिकाम्बुस्रवा इव ॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse offers a stark ethical reflection through imagery: war magnifies suffering so greatly that even powerful elephants become symbols of vulnerability. By likening blood to seasonal mountain cascades, it highlights the scale of harm and invites contemplation on the moral burden and human cost inherent in violent conflict.
Sanjaya narrates the battlefield scene: elephants have been struck by innumerable arrows and are bleeding profusely. Their blood streams make them look like rain-season mountains with reddish, ochre-mixed waterfalls, emphasizing the intensity of the fighting in the Drona Parva.