Shloka 14
मुण्डतालवनानीव चकार स रथव्रजान् । निर्मनुष्यान् रथान् राजन् गजाननश्चांश्व संयुगे
sañjaya uvāca
muṇḍatālavanānīva cakāra sa rathavrajān |
nirmanuṣyān rathān rājan gajān aśvāṁś ca saṁyuge ||
Sañjaya said: O King, in the thick of battle he reduced the massed chariots to a state like a grove of shorn palmyra trees—leaving chariots without their men, and likewise bringing down elephants and horses. The verse underscores the grim efficiency of warfare: prowess that, while celebrated as martial skill, results in the swift stripping away of life and agency from the instruments and participants of combat.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the stark moral atmosphere of war: martial excellence can rapidly turn living forces into lifeless instruments. It invites reflection on the cost of kṣatriya duty—valor and skill are praised, yet their immediate fruit is destruction and the sudden emptiness (nirmānuṣyatā) of what moments before was full of life.
Sañjaya reports to the king that a particular warrior (identified in the surrounding passage) is cutting down the chariot formations so thoroughly that the battlefield resembles a grove of palmyra trees with their tops lopped off; chariots are left without their riders, and elephants and horses are also struck down amid the fighting.