स तु लब्ध्वान्तरं नागस् त्वरितो रथमण्डलात् ॥
निश्चक्राम ततः सर्वान् परिचिक्षेप पार्थिवान् ॥
ते त्व् आशुगतिना तेन त्रास्यमाना नरर्षभाः ॥
तम् एकं द्विरदं संख्ये मेनिरे शतशो नृपाः ॥
ते गजस्थेन काल्यन्ते भगदत्तेन पाण्डवाः ॥
ऐरावतस्थेन यथा देवराजेन दानवाः ॥
sa tu labdhvāntaraṃ nāgas tvarito rathamaṇḍalāt ||
niścakrāma tataḥ sarvān paricikṣepa pārthivān ||
te tv āśugatinā tena trāsyamānā nararṣabhāḥ ||
tam ekaṃ dviradaṃ saṃkhye menire śataśo nṛpāḥ ||
te gajasthena kālyante bhagadattena pāṇḍavāḥ ||
airāvatasthena yathā devarājena dānavāḥ ||
But he, the elephant, finding an opening, swiftly broke free from the ring of chariots, and then flung the kings about in all directions. Driven in fear by that swift elephant, the bulls among men reckoned that single elephant in the fight as worth hundreds. Those Pandavas were driven by Bhagadatta on his elephant, just as the Danavas were driven by the king of gods mounted on Airavata.
24ff94def12a · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:11:21 PM UTC
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A single elephant appears to the terrified kings as "worth hundreds" -- fear multiplies the enemy in the eyes of the hunted. Thus does the power of terror over perception reveal itself: one dread-inspiring thing seems countless. And Bhagadatta on his elephant is likened to Indra on Airavata driving the Danavas -- but this image, flattering to the Kauravas, again casts their opponents as the vanquished asuras, and Bhagadatta himself as the god, whose triumph in myth proves fleeting. The verse teaches that fear distorts measure, and a lone enemy seems like a multitude to the faint of heart; that one who is master of himself sees things as they are, while the terrified multiply them; and that the greatness of the one who triumphs, likened to the divine, is measured not by the moment of victory but by its final outcome.