Shloka 14
नरो बाणविनिर्भिन्नो रथादन्यक्ष मारिष । तत्रान्यस्य च सम्मर्दे पतितस्य विवर्मण:
naro bāṇavinirbhinnō rathād anyakṣa māriṣa | tatrānyasya ca sammarde patitasya vivarmaṇaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: O venerable one, a warrior, pierced through by arrows, fell from his chariot—its axle broken. There, amid the crush of battle, another combatant too lay fallen, stripped of his armor. The scene reveals the war’s relentless, leveling force, undoing prowess and protection in an instant.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of worldly protections—armor, chariots, and martial skill—when confronted with the chaos of battle. Ethically, it points to the sobering reality that violence reduces all to vulnerability, urging reflection on the cost of war even when fought under the banner of duty.
Sañjaya describes a battlefield moment: a warrior, riddled with arrows, falls from a chariot whose axle has broken; nearby, in the dense melee, another fighter lies fallen and unarmored. The focus is on the immediate devastation and disorder within the combat.