Shloka 20
वज्रदत्तेन सह अर्जुनयुद्धम्
Arjuna’s engagement with Vajradatta during the Aśvamedha circuit
स तैर्विद्धो महानागो विस्रवन् रुधिरं वभौ । गैरिकाक्तमिवाम्भोडडद्रिरबहुप्रस्रवणं तदा
sa tair viddho mahānāgo visravan rudhiraṃ vabhau | gairikāktaṃ ivāmbhoda-drir bahu-prasravaṇaṃ tadā ||
毗湿摩耶那说道：被那些箭矢洞穿后，那头雄壮的大象顿时血流如注。彼时它宛如一座载雨之山，赭红斑驳，万泉迸涌——此景更添杀伐之惨恻，显出武事所付出的冷峻代价。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the tangible suffering produced by warfare: even when battle is framed within kṣatriya-duty, its immediate reality is pain and bloodshed. The poet’s vivid simile invites ethical reflection on the cost of violence rather than glorifying it.
An elephant, struck by multiple arrows, bleeds profusely. The narrator compares the blood streaming from its wounds to a rain-cloud mountain with many springs, visually intensifying the scene’s brutality.