Shloka 21
विद्राव्य च बहूनश्वान् नागा राजन् मदोत्कटा: । विषाणैश्वापरे जघ्नुर्ममृदुश्चापरे भूशम्,राजन! कितने ही मदोन्मत्त हाथी भी बहुत-से घोड़ोंको खदेड़कर उन्हें दाँतोंसे दबाकर मार डालते अथवा वेगपूर्वक पैरोंसे कुचल डालते थे
vidrāvya ca bahūn aśvān nāgā rājan madotkaṭāḥ | viṣāṇaiś cāpare jaghnur mamṛduś cāpare bhūśam ||
سنجے نے کہا—اے راجن! مد سے بپھرے ہوئے ہاتھیوں نے بہت سے گھوڑوں کو بھگا دیا؛ بعض نے انہیں دانتوں سے چیر کر دبا کر مار ڈالا، اور بعض نے زور دار یلغار کے ساتھ پاؤں تلے روند ڈالا۔
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is primarily descriptive, yet it implicitly highlights the dehumanizing and indiscriminate nature of war: even animals, driven by rut and battlefield chaos, become instruments of mass harm. It invites reflection on the ethical cost of conflict, where life is crushed by forces of frenzy and power rather than guided by dharma.
Sañjaya reports to the king that elephants, maddened with rut, are routing cavalry. Some kill horses by pressing and goring with their tusks; others trample them into the ground as they surge forward, intensifying the carnage on the battlefield.