Shloka 20
वज्रदत्तेन सह अर्जुनयुद्धम्
Arjuna’s engagement with Vajradatta during the Aśvamedha circuit
स तैर्विद्धो महानागो विस्रवन् रुधिरं वभौ । गैरिकाक्तमिवाम्भोडडद्रिरबहुप्रस्रवणं तदा
sa tair viddho mahānāgo visravan rudhiraṃ vabhau | gairikāktaṃ ivāmbhoda-drir bahu-prasravaṇaṃ tadā ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: Nang matamaan ng mga palasong iyon, ang makapangyarihang elepante ay nagsimulang magbuga ng mga agos ng dugo. Sa sandaling iyon, wari’y isang bundok na nagdadala ng ulan, may mga pulang guhit na parang okra, at pinagbubukalan ng maraming bukal—larawang nagpapatingkad sa dalamhati ng karahasan at sa mabigat na kabayaran ng digmaan.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the tangible suffering produced by warfare: even when battle is framed within kṣatriya-duty, its immediate reality is pain and bloodshed. The poet’s vivid simile invites ethical reflection on the cost of violence rather than glorifying it.
An elephant, struck by multiple arrows, bleeds profusely. The narrator compares the blood streaming from its wounds to a rain-cloud mountain with many springs, visually intensifying the scene’s brutality.