Shloka 13
स तु हत्वा सहस्राणि नराश्वरथदन्तिनाम् अष्टौ रथसहस्राणि नव दन्तिशतानि च
sa tu hatvā sahasrāṇi narāśvarathadantinām aṣṭau rathasahasrāṇi nava dantiśatāni ca
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “He, having slain thousands among men, horses, charioteers, and elephants, also destroyed eight thousand chariots and nine hundred elephants.” The statement underscores the staggering scale of violence on the battlefield, inviting reflection on how martial prowess and mass slaughter coexist uneasily with the demands of dharma in a war fought among kin.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the immense human and material cost of war. In Yudhiṣṭhira’s voice, the enumeration of slain forces becomes an ethical mirror: even when battle is framed as a kṣatriya obligation, the magnitude of destruction presses the listener to weigh victory against dharma, compassion, and responsibility.
Yudhiṣṭhira reports (or recalls) a warrior’s battlefield feat by counting the numbers of combatants and war-assets destroyed—thousands across men, horses, chariots, and elephants—specifically noting eight thousand chariots and nine hundred elephants, emphasizing the ferocity and scale of the fighting in Droṇa Parva.