Shloka 17
अश्वमेधीयस्य हयस्य दक्षिणापश्चिमगमनम् — The Sacrificial Horse’s Southern and Western Circuit
सम्भ्रान्तनरनागाश्वमपतद् विद्रुतं बलम् । हतविध्वस्तभूयिष्ठमावर्तत मुहुर्मुहु:
sambhrāntanaranāgāśvam apatat vidrutaṃ balam | hatavidhvastabhūyiṣṭham āvartata muhurmuhuḥ ||
قال فايشَمبايانا: إن الجيش، وقد استولى عليه الذعر—والرجال والفيلة والخيول في اضطراب—انكسر وولى هاربًا. وقد قُتل أكثره وتبدّد، فظلّ يدور عائدًا مرارًا وتكرارًا، لا يثبت على أرضٍ ولا يهتدي إلى مسلكٍ مستقيم وسط الخراب.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how fear and confusion rapidly dissolve collective strength: when discipline and clarity fail, even a great force becomes directionless—an ethical reminder that violence breeds instability and that leadership and self-control are crucial in crisis.
Vaiśampāyana describes a battlefield moment where the force has been heavily killed and broken; the survivors flee in disorder and repeatedly wheel back, suggesting a rout with intermittent, ineffective attempts to regroup.