Shloka 20

Devanagari script

पदाती रथिनं संख्ये रथी चापि पदातिनम्‌ | न्यपातयच्छितै: शस्त्रै: सेनयोरुभयोरपि,दोनों ही सेनाओंमें पैदल वीर रथीको और रथी योद्धा पैदल सैनिकको अपने तीखे अस्त्र-शस्त्रोंद्वारा रणभूमिमें मार गिराता था

Transliteration

padātī rathinaṃ saṅkhye rathī cāpi padātinam | nyapātayacchitaiḥ śastraiḥ senayor ubhayor api ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: In the press of battle, foot-soldiers struck down chariot-warriors, and chariot-warriors likewise felled foot-soldiers, with keen weapons—on both sides alike. The scene showed the war’s grim reciprocity: rank and mode of fighting offered no moral immunity, and violence returned violence in an escalating cycle.

Word by Word

पदातीa foot-soldier

रथिनम्a chariot-warrior

संख्येin battle

रथीa chariot-warrior

चand

अपिalso

पदातिनम्a foot-soldier

न्यपातयत्caused to fall; struck down

छितैःwith sharp (weapons)

शस्त्रैःwith weapons

सेनयोःof the two armies

उभयोःof both

अपिindeed/also (emphatic)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

two armies (Kaurava and Pāṇḍava forces)

foot-soldiers (padātayaḥ)

chariot-warriors (rathinaḥ/rathinaṃ)

weapons (śastra)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the impartial, leveling nature of war: distinctions of status (infantry vs chariot-warrior) do not prevent mutual destruction. Ethically, it highlights how violence becomes reciprocal and widespread, warning that once dharma is eclipsed by battle-fury, suffering spreads across all ranks.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield where, amid intense fighting, infantrymen bring down chariot-fighters and chariot-fighters bring down infantrymen with sharp weapons—casualties occurring on both sides in equal measure.