Shloka 45
अश्मचूर्णरवाकीर्णा मनुष्यगजवाजिन: । नाशवनुवन्नवस्थातु भ्रमरैरिव दंशिता:,पत्थरके चूर्णोंसे व्याप्त हुए मनुष्य, हाथी और घोड़े वहाँ ठहर न सके, मानो उन्हें भ्रमरोंने डस लिया हो
aśmacūrṇaravākīrṇā manuṣyagajavājinaḥ | nāśakuvan navasthātuṃ bhramarair iva daṃśitāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: The ground was strewn and filled with the roar of stone-dust; men, elephants, and horses could not hold their positions there, as if they had been stung by swarming bees. The image underscores the battlefield’s intolerable violence—so overwhelming that even the strongest beings lose steadiness and order amid the chaos.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unchecked violence and tumult in war destroy steadiness and discernment: even powerful forces (men, elephants, horses) lose the capacity to stand firm. Ethically, it points to the dehumanizing, destabilizing nature of battle and the suffering it spreads indiscriminately.
Sañjaya describes a section of the battlefield where pulverized stone and its deafening din overwhelm the combatants. The conditions are so harsh that soldiers and mounts cannot maintain formation or remain in place, likened to beings driven frantic by a swarm of stinging bees.