Shloka 121
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)
दिष्ट्या कलिड्डराजश्न राजपुत्रश्न केतुमान् । शक्रदेवश्व कालिज्गभः कलिड्राश्व मृधे हता:
diṣṭyā kaliṅgarājaś ca rājaputraś ca ketumān | śakradevaś ca kaliṅgabhaḥ kaliṅgāś ca mṛdhe hatāḥ ||
சஞ்சயன் கூறினான்—“நன்று; கலிங்க அரசனும், அரசகுமாரன் கேதுமானும், சக்ரதேவனும், கலிங்கபனும், கலிங்க வீரர்களும் போரில் வீழ்ந்தனர்.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, success is often expressed as “good fortune” when dangerous adversaries fall; ethically, it points to the tension between strategic necessity (protecting one’s side) and the sobering reality that such ‘fortune’ is built upon widespread death.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that leading figures and fighters from Kaliṅga—named chiefs and the broader contingent—have been killed in the fighting, indicating a significant setback for that allied force on the battlefield.