Shloka 30

Devanagari script

पुर:सराक्ष नागानामपरेषां विशाम्पते । शरीराण्यतिविद्धानि तत्र तत्र रणाजिरे,प्रजानाथ! जो हाथियोंके आगे चलनेवाले पैदल थे, वे दूसरे पक्षके हाथियोंके शरीरोंको जहाँ-तहाँ रणभूमिमें अत्यन्त घायल कर देते थे

Transliteration

puraḥsarākṣa nāgānām apareṣāṃ viśāmpate | śarīrāṇy atividdhāni tatra tatra raṇājire prajānātha |

Translation

สัญชัยกล่าวว่า—ข้าแต่ผู้ทรงอภิบาลประชา ทหารราบที่เคลื่อนอยู่หน้ากองช้างได้กระหน่ำแทงร่างช้างฝ่ายตรงข้ามซ้ำแล้วซ้ำเล่าในสมรภูมิ เจาะทะลุและทำให้บาดเจ็บสาหัสตามจุดต่าง ๆ.

Word by Word

पुरःसराःthose going in front (vanguard)

नागानाम्of the elephants

अपरेषाम्of the others (of the opposing side)

विशाम्पतेO lord of the people

शरीराणिbodies

अतिविद्धानिpierced through; severely wounded

तत्रthere

तत्रhere and there

रणाजिरेin the battlefield

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

king (addressed as viśāmpati/prajānātha)

elephants (nāgāḥ)

foot-soldiers in the vanguard (puraḥsarāḥ)

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 highlights the brutal reciprocity of warfare: strength (war-elephants) is not absolute, and disciplined coordination (vanguard infantry targeting vulnerable points) can overturn apparent superiority. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s sober realism—war magnifies suffering across all ranks, not only among famed heroes.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the king that the foot-soldiers moving ahead of the elephants are inflicting severe wounds on the enemy elephants, piercing their bodies in many places across the battlefield.