Shloka 98
गजा गजानतिक्रम्य निर्मनुष्या हया हयान्
gajā gajān atikramya nirmanuṣyā hayā hayān
Sañjaya sprach: Die Elefanten drängten an anderen Elefanten vorbei, und die Pferde stürmten über andere Pferde hinaus, immer weiter—so dass die Szene wie menschenleer erschien, als wäre die menschliche Gegenwart im Getrampel und in der Verwirrung des nächtlichen Gemetzels verschwunden.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the dehumanizing momentum of war: once violence erupts, even mighty war-animals move in blind panic, and human agency seems to disappear. Ethically, it hints at how adharma in battle produces chaos where life is trampled without discernment.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene in the Sauptika episode: elephants and horses, in confusion and terror, rush past one another. The camp/battlefield appears ‘without men’—suggesting widespread death, flight, or the inability to distinguish people amid the tumult.