Shloka 17
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ६६: तुमुलसंग्रामवर्णनम्
The Tumult of Battle Described
Devanagari script
तत्र तत्र हतैश्नापि मनुष्यगजवाजिभि:
Transliteration
tatra tatra hataiś cāpi manuṣya-gaja-vājibhiḥ
Translation
সঞ্জয় বললেন—এখানে-সেখানে নিহত মানুষ, হাতি ও ঘোড়ায় ভূমি ছেয়ে গিয়েছিল; যেন চারিদিকেই যুদ্ধবিধ্বংসের চিহ্ন স্পষ্ট হয়ে উঠেছিল।
Word by Word
तत्रthere
तत्र:
Adhikarana
TypeIndeclinable
Rootतत्र
FormAvyaya (locative adverb)
तत्रthere (here and there)
तत्र:
Adhikarana
TypeIndeclinable
Rootतत्र
FormAvyaya (locative adverb)
हतैःby the slain / with the killed
हतैः:
Karana
TypeAdjective
Rootहत
FormMasculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural (PPP of √हन्)
अपिalso/even
अपि:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootअपि
FormAvyaya
मनुष्य-गज-वाजिभिःby men, elephants, and horses
मनुष्य-गज-वाजिभिः:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootमनुष्य + गज + वाजिन्
FormMasculine, Instrumental, Plural
Speaker
संजय उवाच
Characters & Entities
S
SañjayaM
men (manuṣyāḥ)E
elephants (gajāḥ)H
horses (vājinaḥ)Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the indiscriminate cost of war: life is lost across ranks and species alike. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, such imagery presses the listener to weigh kṣatriya-duty against the tragic consequences that follow when conflict becomes all-consuming.
Sañjaya is describing the battlefield scene: in many places the field is filled with the dead—humans, elephants, and horses—conveying the scale and chaos of the fighting.