Shloka 13

भीष्मस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति उपालम्भः

Bhīṣma’s Reproof to Duryodhana

Devanagari script

गजानीकं च सम्प्रेक्ष् मेघवृन्दमिवोदितम्‌

Transliteration

gajānikaṃ ca samprekṣya meghavṛndam ivoditam

Translation

三阇耶说道：“我望见那密集成阵的象军，腾然而起，宛如新聚的云团——在战场上这是不祥而膨胀的景象，权势与傲慢在此汇集，等待对达摩的考验。”

Word by Word

• गजानीकम्: elephant-corps, troop of elephants
• गजानीकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गज + अनीक
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• सम्प्रेक्ष्य: having looked at, observing
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + प्र + ईक्ष्
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral for gerund)

• मेघवृन्दम्: a mass/cluster of clouds
• मेघवृन्दम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेघ + वृन्द
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• इव: like, as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• उदितम्: risen, arisen, appearing
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उद् + इ (उदेति) / √इ (गत्यर्थ)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• gajānika (elephant corps)
• meghavṛnda (mass of clouds)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how martial might can appear vast and overwhelming, yet it is ultimately only a spectacle within the larger moral trial of war; outward power (the elephant host) does not by itself determine righteousness (dharma) or rightful outcome.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, comparing the assembled elephant division to a rising mass of clouds, conveying the scale, density, and foreboding grandeur of the forces as the conflict intensifies.