Shloka 71
अध्याय ६० — कर्णस्य पाञ्चाल-सोमक-निग्रहः
Karna’s Suppression of the Panchala–Somaka Forces
दुद्रुवु: शतश: संख्ये भीमसेनशराहता: । तदनन्तर भीमसेनके बाणोंसे आहत हो फूटे गण्डस्थल, विदीर्ण कुम्भस्थल और छित्न- भिन्न शुण्डदण्डवाले सैकड़ों हाथी युद्धस्थलमें भागने लगे ।।
dudruvuḥ śataśaḥ saṅkhye bhīmasena-śarāhatāḥ | tadanantaraṃ bhīmasenakena bāṇaiḥ āhataḥ sphuṭita-gaṇḍasthalaḥ vidīrṇa-kumbhasthalaḥ chinna-bhinna-śuṇḍa-daṇḍavālaḥ saikadoṃ hāthī yuddhasthale palāyanta || kecid vamanto rudhiraṃ bhayārtāḥ parvatopamāḥ ||
Sañjaya nói: Bị tên của Bhīmasena bắn trúng, hàng trăm chiến tượng hoảng loạn bỏ chạy khắp chiến địa. Thái dương chúng bị bổ toác, bướu trán bị xé rách, vòi bị dập nát và chặt đứt; có con to lớn như núi, vừa chạy vừa nôn ra máu vì kinh hãi.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh moral reality of war: even the strongest beings collapse under fear and injury. It implicitly warns that martial success is inseparable from widespread suffering, urging reflection on the cost of conflict and the responsibility borne by those who wage it.
Sañjaya describes Bhīmasena’s fierce assault: his arrows grievously wound masses of elephants, causing them to break formation and flee. Some, enormous as mountains, run in terror while vomiting blood, intensifying the scene’s chaos and brutality.