Shloka 36

Devanagari script

असम्बद्धा महाराज तान्‌ निगृह्नन्ति ते गजा: । पुष्करै: पद्मसंकाशैविंकसद्धिमहाप्र भै:

Transliteration

asambaddhā mahārāja tān nigṛhṇanti te gajāḥ | puṣkaraiḥ padma-saṅkāśair vikaśad-dhima-hāprabhaiḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya nói: “Tâu Đại vương, những con voi ấy túm lấy và nghiền nát họ không chút kiêng dè; chúng quật bằng vòi như hoa sen—xòe rộng, rực rỡ, bừng cháy ánh huy hoàng—giữa cơn náo động của chiến địa.”

Word by Word

असम्बद्धाःunconnected, scattered (not in formation)

महाराजO great king

तान्them

निगृह्णन्तिseize, restrain, overpower

तेthose

गजाःelephants

पुष्करैःwith (their) trunks

पद्मसंकाशैःlotus-like (in appearance)

विकसद्भिःopening, blossoming

महाप्रभैःvery splendid, greatly radiant

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

elephants (gajāḥ)

trunks (puṣkara)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral and practical truth that war, once set in motion, tends to become indiscriminate and uncontrollable; power (here, elephants) can overwhelm human intention, reminding rulers of the grave responsibility involved in choosing conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes to Dhṛtarāṣṭra how elephants on the battlefield are overpowering combatants, using their lotus-like, fully spread trunks to seize and crush, intensifying the chaos of the fight.