Shloka 353
कर्णस्य दानप्रतिज्ञा–शल्योपदेश–वाक्ययुद्धम्
Karna’s Gift-Vows, Shalya’s Counsel, and the Battle of Words
पर्वतस्येव शिखरं वज्रुग्णं महीतले | माननीय नरेश! उस घोर एवं भयानक युद्धमें कितने ही हाथी निकट आकर अपनी सूँड्रोंस कुछ आवरणयुक्त रथोंको पकड़ लेते और उन्हें वेगपूर्वक खींचकर सहसा दूर फेंक देते थे। फिर वे महाबली हाथी भी नाराचोंसे मारे जाकर वज्रके तोड़े हुए पर्वत-शिखरकी भाँति पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़ते थे
sañjaya uvāca | parvatasyeva śikharaṃ vajrughnaṃ mahītale | mānanīya nareśa! tasmin ghore bhayānake yuddhe bahavaḥ hastinaḥ samīpam āgatya svatuṇḍaiḥ kavacopetān rathān gṛhītvā vegena ākṛṣya sahasā dūre kṣipanti sma | te ca mahābalā hastinaḥ nārācair āhatā vajreṇa bhinnaparvataśikharavad bhūmau nipetire |
Sinabi ni Sañjaya: “O kagalang-galang na Hari, sa kakila-kilabot at nakapanghihilakbot na digmaang iyon, maraming elepante ang lumalapit, sinasakmal ng kanilang nguso ang mga karwaheng may baluting panangga, hinihila nang buong lakas at biglang inihahagis sa malayo. Ngunit maging ang mga elepanteng ubod-lakas, kapag tinamaan ng matutulis na palaso, ay bumabagsak sa lupa na parang tuktok ng bundok na winasak ng kidlat.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the fragility of even the strongest worldly power: war-elephants appear unstoppable, yet they too fall when struck. The epic simile (a thunderbolt-shattered mountain peak) highlights impermanence and the swift reversal of fortune in violent conflict.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield to the king: elephants charge in, seize and fling armoured chariots with their trunks, but then those same elephants are pierced by nārāca arrows and collapse to the ground like broken mountain summits.