Shloka 47

Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)

Devanagari script

मूढाश्व॒ ते तमेवाजी विनदन्त: समाद्रवन्‌

Transliteration

mūḍhāśvā te tamevājī vinadantaḥ samādravan

Translation

Sañjaya said: Those horses, bewildered in the tumult, rushed straight toward that very war-horse, neighing loudly—an image of the battlefield’s confusion, where even trained creatures are swept along by noise, fear, and momentum rather than clear discernment.

Word by Word

• मूढाश्वाः: those whose horses were bewildered (men with confused horses)
• मूढाश्वाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मूढाश्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ते: they
• ते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• अजी: in battle
• अजी: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अजि
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• विनदन्तः: roaring/shouting
• विनदन्तः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-नद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural, शतृ (present active participle)

• समाद्रवन्: ran up/charged
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-द्रु
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• horses
• war-horse
• battlefield (ājī)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights moha (confusion) amid violence: in war, even disciplined beings can lose clarity and be driven by panic and noise, suggesting the ethical cost of battle extends beyond human combatants.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a battlefield moment where horses, disoriented, surge toward a particular war-horse while neighing loudly, conveying the press and disorder of the fighting.