Shloka 52
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)
छिन्नदन्ताग्रहस्ताश्न भिन्नकुम्भास्तथा परे । वियोधा: स्वान्यनीकानि जघ्नुर्भारत वारणा:
chinnadantāgrahastāś ca bhinnakumbhās tathā pare | viyodhāḥ svāny anīkāni jaghnur bhārata vāraṇāḥ ||
Wika ni Sañjaya: May mga elepanteng naputol ang dulo ng pangil at ang kanilang nguso; ang iba nama’y nabiyak ang sentido. Gayunman, sa pagkabaliw na di na mapigil, bumaling sila sa sariling hanay at niyurakan at pinaslang ang mga kakampi, O Bhārata.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war unleashes uncontrolled violence: even powerful assets like war-elephants, once wounded and maddened, can turn against their own side. It serves as a moral reminder that adharma-driven conflict breeds indiscriminate destruction.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield where elephants, grievously injured (tusks and trunks cut, temples split), become frenzied and, losing direction and discipline, attack and kill within their own ranks and formations.