Shloka 1
भीष्मरक्षण-उद्योगः, शिखण्डि-विवर्जनं, सर्वतोभद्र-व्यूहः
Protection of Bhīṣma, Exemption of Śikhaṇḍin, and the Sarvatobhadra Array
ऑपन-आक्राा बछ। अर: द्विनवतितमो< ध्याय: घटोत्कचका दुर्योधन एवं द्रोण आदि प्रमुख वीरोंके साथ भयकर युद्ध संजय उवाच ततस्तद् बाणवर्ष तु दुः:सहं दानवैरपि । दधार युधि राजेन्द्रो यथा वर्ष महाद्विप:
sañjaya uvāca | tatas tad bāṇavarṣaṁ tu duḥsahaṁ dānavair api | dadhāra yudhi rājendro yathā varṣaṁ mahādvipaḥ ||
Sinabi ni Sañjaya: “O hari, ang ulang ng mga palaso—na di-matiis kahit ng mga Dānava—ay tiniis sa labanan ng hari ng mga hari, si Duryodhana, gaya ng isang makapangyarihang panginoong elepante na binabata ang ulang-buhos sa kanyang katawan.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣātra endurance: a warrior-king is expected to remain steady under extreme assault. The elephant-in-rain simile frames steadfastness as a cultivated martial virtue, regardless of the moral standing of the combatant.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Duryodhana withstands a fierce barrage of arrows in battle—so intense that even Dānavas would find it unbearable—likening his bearing of the attack to a great elephant calmly bearing rainfall.