Shloka 33
हयाभ्यां च गजाभ्यां च रथाभ्यां च पदातिभि:
hayābhyāṁ ca gajābhyāṁ ca rathābhyāṁ ca padātibhiḥ
Sañjaya said: “With horses and elephants, with chariots, and with foot-soldiers…”—a compressed battlefield description indicating the full spectrum of the army’s arms and the overwhelming press of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The line underscores the totality and intensity of armed conflict—war draws in every arm of the host (cavalry, elephants, chariots, infantry). Ethically, it frames the gravity of kṣatriya warfare: decisions and consequences unfold amid vast, organized violence affecting all ranks.
Sañjaya is describing the battlefield scene in Drona Parva, indicating that the action involves all major military units—horses, elephants, chariots, and foot-soldiers—suggesting a dense, large-scale engagement.