Shloka 59
Śalya’s Objection to Sārathya and Duryodhana’s Conciliation (शल्यमन्यु-प्रशमनम् / Sārathyāṅgīkāra)
दावाग्निपरिदग्धाड़ा यथैव स्युर्महावने । बहुत-से मतवाले हाथी वहाँ बड़ी घबराहटमें पड़कर इधर-उधर चक्कर काट रहे थे, मानो किसी बड़े भारी जंगलमें दावानलसे उनके सारे अंग झुलस गये हों ।।
sañjaya uvāca | dāvāgniparidagdhāḍā yathaiva syur mahāvane | bhinnakumbhādrarudhirāś chinnahastāś ca vāraṇāḥ |
三阇耶说道：“正如大林之中，群象被狂暴的野火灼烧，惊惶失措而踉跄乱转；战场上许多狂象亦如是，旋转摇晃，陷入混乱。有的额前隆起之处被劈裂，血流浸染；有的象鼻被斩断；有的甲胄被撕碎；许多象尾被截去。被伟大的迦尔纳击倒，众多战象如破碎的云团般坠落大地。”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the catastrophic cost of war: even the mightiest creatures and the most splendid martial resources are reduced to panic and ruin. It implicitly warns that martial glory is inseparable from widespread suffering, inviting ethical reflection on violence and its consequences.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield where many elephants, maddened and terrified, stagger like wildfire-scorched elephants in a forest. They are grievously wounded—temples split, trunks severed, armor torn—and many collapse to the ground after being struck by Karṇa.