Shloka 13

भीष्मस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति उपालम्भः

Bhīṣma’s Reproof to Duryodhana

Devanagari script

गजानीकं च सम्प्रेक्ष् मेघवृन्दमिवोदितम्‌

Transliteration

gajānikaṃ ca samprekṣya meghavṛndam ivoditam

Translation

சஞ்சயன் கூறினான்—யானைப் படையை நோக்கியபோது, அது புதிதாய் திரண்ட மேகக் கூட்டம்போல் எழுந்தது; தர்மத்தின் சோதனைக்கு முன் போர்க்களத்தில் வலமும் அகந்தையும் ஒன்று கூடிய, அச்சுறுத்தும் பெருக்கான காட்சி அது.

Word by Word

गजानीकम्elephant-corps, troop of elephants

चand

सम्प्रेक्ष्यhaving looked at, observing

मेघवृन्दम्a mass/cluster of clouds

इवlike, as

उदितम्risen, arisen, appearing

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

gajānika (elephant corps)

meghavṛnda (mass of clouds)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how martial might can appear vast and overwhelming, yet it is ultimately only a spectacle within the larger moral trial of war; outward power (the elephant host) does not by itself determine righteousness (dharma) or rightful outcome.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, comparing the assembled elephant division to a rising mass of clouds, conveying the scale, density, and foreboding grandeur of the forces as the conflict intensifies.