Shloka 716
युधिष्ठिरस्य धनंजय-प्रति गर्हा
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Reproach to Dhanaṃjaya
सारोहा निहता: पेतुर्वजभिन्ना इवाद्रय: । जैसे पर्वतोंके शिखर टूटकर निम्न देशसे लुढ़कते हुए नीचे गिर पड़ते हैं तथा जैसे वज्से विदीर्ण किये हुए पर्वत धराशायी हो जाते हैं
sārohā nihatāḥ petur vajrabhinna ivādrayaḥ |
Wika ni Sañjaya: Ang mga elepante, na napabagsak kasama ang kanilang mga sakay, ay gumuho sa lupa—gaya ng mga bundok na nabibiyak ang tuktok at gumugulong pababa sa kapatagan, o gaya ng batong talampas na hinahati ng kidlat at bumabagsak. Ipinakikita ng larawang ito ang dumadagundong na lakas ng digmaan: maging ang pinakamatitibay na sandigan ng hukbo ay biglang nababagsak, at kasabay nila ang mga umaasa sa kanilang taas at kapangyarihan.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of worldly power in war: even the strongest instruments of dominance—war-elephants and their elevated riders—can be brought down in an instant. It implicitly warns against pride in might and status, emphasizing impermanence amid adharma-driven destruction.
Sañjaya describes a battlefield moment in which elephants, killed along with their riders, crash to the ground. He intensifies the scene through a simile: their fall resembles mountains shattered by a thunderbolt and collapsing from their heights.