Shloka 15

Devanagari script

हयपृष्ठगताश्षान्ये कृष्यन्ते<र्थच्युतासना: । गजस्कन्धेषु संस्यूता नाराचैश्वनलितासना:

Transliteration

hayapṛṣṭhagatāś cānye kṛṣyante 'rthacyutāsanāḥ | gajaskandheṣu saṃsyūtā nārācaiś cānalitāsanāḥ ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Some warriors, seated upon the backs of horses, are being dragged along after falling from their chariots. Others, mounted on the shoulders of elephants, have their seats set ablaze by nārāca arrows.”

Word by Word

हयपृष्ठगताःmounted on horses' backs

अन्येothers

कृष्यन्तेare dragged / are pulled

रथच्युतासनाःwhose seats have fallen from the chariot (i.e., unseated from chariots)

गजस्कन्धेषुon the elephants' shoulders/backs

संस्यूताःfastened/attached (bound) together

नाराचैःwith iron arrows

वनलितासनाःwhose seats are shaken/overturned (disturbed) like a forest (i.e., violently tossed)

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

horses (haya)

chariots (ratha)

elephants (gaja)

nārāca arrows

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 brutal instability of war: rank and security vanish instantly, and even the righteous must confront widespread suffering. It implicitly urges sober discernment and compassion, reminding the listener that violence produces chaos that spares no one.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira describes battlefield scenes: some fighters, thrown from chariots, are dragged while clinging to or seated on horses; others, riding elephants, are struck by nārāca missiles that ignite their seats, intensifying the panic and devastation.