भग्नचक्राक्षनीडाश् च निपातितमहाध्वजाः ॥
हताश्वाः पृथिवीं जग्मुस् तत्र तत्र महारथाः ॥
परिपेतुर् हयाश् चात्र के चिच् छस्त्रकृतव्रणाः ॥
रथान् विपरिकर्षन्तो हतेषु रथयोधिषु ॥
शराहता भिन्नदेहा बद्धयोक्त्रा हयोत्तमाः ॥
युगानि पर्यकर्षन्त तत्र तत्र स्म भारत ॥
अदृश्यन्त ससूताश् च साश्वाः सरथयोधिनः ॥
एकेन बलिना राजन् वारणेन हता रथाः ॥
गन्धहस्तिमदस्रावम् आघ्राय बहवो रणे ॥
संनिपाते बलौघानां वीतम् आददिरे गजाः ॥
सतोमरमहामात्रैर् निपतद्भिर् गतासुभिः ॥
बभूवायोधनं छन्नं नाराचाभिहतैर् गजैः ॥
संनिपाते बलौघानां प्रेषितैर् वरवारणैः ॥
निपेतुर् युधि संभग्नाः सयोधाः सध्वजा रथाः ॥
नागराजोपमैर् हस्तैर् नागैर् आक्षिप्य संयुगे ॥
व्यदृश्यन्त महाराज संभग्ना रथकूबराः ॥
विशीर्णरथजालाश् च केशेष्व् आक्षिप्य दन्तिभिः ॥
द्रुमशाखा इवाविध्य निष्पिष्टा रथिनो रणे ॥
रथेषु च रथान् युद्धे संसक्तान् वरवारणाः ॥
विकर्षन्तो दिशः सर्वाः संपेतुः सर्वशब्दगाः ॥
तेषां तथा कर्षतां च गजानां रूपम् आबभौ ॥
सरःसु नलिनीजालं विषक्तम् इव कर्षताम् ॥
एवं संछादितं तत्र बभूवायोधनं महत् ॥
सादिभिश् च पदातैश् च सध्वजैश् च महारथैः ॥
bhagnacakrākṣanīḍāś ca nipātitamahādhvajāḥ ||
hatāśvāḥ pṛthivīṃ jagmus tatra tatra mahārathāḥ ||
paripetur hayāś cātra ke cic chastrakṛtavraṇāḥ ||
rathān viparikarṣanto hateṣu rathayodhiṣu ||
śarāhatā bhinnadehā baddhayoktrā hayottamāḥ ||
yugāni paryakarṣanta tatra tatra sma bhārata ||
adṛśyanta sasūtāś ca sāśvāḥ sarathayodhinaḥ ||
ekena balinā rājan vāraṇena hatā rathāḥ ||
gandhahastimadasrāvam āghrāya bahavo raṇe ||
saṃnipāte balaughānāṃ vītam ādadire gajāḥ ||
satomaramahāmātrair nipatadbhir gatāsubhiḥ ||
babhūvāyodhanaṃ channaṃ nārācābhihatair gajaiḥ ||
saṃnipāte balaughānāṃ preṣitair varavāraṇaiḥ ||
nipetur yudhi saṃbhagnāḥ sayodhāḥ sadhvajā rathāḥ ||
nāgarājopamair hastair nāgair ākṣipya saṃyuge ||
vyadṛśyanta mahārāja saṃbhagnā rathakūbarāḥ ||
viśīrṇarathajālāś ca keśeṣv ākṣipya dantibhiḥ ||
drumaśākhā ivāvidhya niṣpiṣṭā rathino raṇe ||
ratheṣu ca rathān yuddhe saṃsaktān varavāraṇāḥ ||
vikarṣanto diśaḥ sarvāḥ saṃpetuḥ sarvaśabdagāḥ ||
teṣāṃ tathā karṣatāṃ ca gajānāṃ rūpam ābabhau ||
saraḥsu nalinījālaṃ viṣaktam iva karṣatām ||
evaṃ saṃchāditaṃ tatra babhūvāyodhanaṃ mahat ||
sādibhiś ca padātaiś ca sadhvajaiś ca mahārathaiḥ ||
Everywhere the great chariot-warriors, their wheels, axles, and naves shattered, their great banners brought down, their horses slain, sank to the ground. Horses ran about here, some wounded by weapons; when the chariot-warriors had fallen, they dragged the chariots about in disorder. The finest horses, struck by arrows, their bodies torn, bound still by their harness, dragged their yokes about everywhere, O Bharata. Chariots, together with their charioteers, horses, and warriors, were seen shattered by a single mighty elephant, O king. Many elephants in the battle, having caught the scent of flowing must from other elephants amid the clash of the streaming hosts, turned and fled. The battlefield became covered with elephants struck by narachas, falling dead together with their drivers and javelins. In the clash of the streaming hosts, chariots with their warriors and banners, shattered by the mighty elephants sent against them, fell in battle. O great king, the shattered frames of chariots could be seen, which the elephants, in the fight, seized with trunks like the kings of serpents. Chariot-warriors, torn from the broken ranks of chariots and seized by the hair by the elephants, were hurled about like branches of trees and crushed in the battle. The mighty elephants, dragging off in every direction the chariots locked together in battle, rushed about with a deafening roar. The elephants, hauling the chariots thus, had the appearance of those who drag a tangled mass of lotuses in a lake. So the great battlefield was covered everywhere with horsemen, foot soldiers, and great chariot-warriors bearing their banners.'
723f469ebe43 · published Jul 17, 2026, 9:35:52 PM UTC
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The final part of the chapter presents the power of the elephants as an almost natural catastrophe: they do not merely take part in the battle but break apart the very structure of chariot warfare. The image of a tangled mass of lotuses in a lake makes the destruction especially bitter — the beauty of the comparison sharpens the horror of what is happening.