Shloka 23
द्रोणपर्व — द्विनवति-तमोऽध्यायः
Sātyaki Pressed by Kauravas; Duryodhana and Kṛtavarmā Engagements
युद्धके मैदानमें चक्कर काटते हुए हाथियोंपर बहुत-से मनुष्य इस प्रकार लटक रहे थे, मानो उन्हें किसी यन्त्रसे वहाँ जड़ दिया गया हो। उनके कवच नष्ट हो गये थे। वे घावसे पीड़ित और खूनसे लथपथ हो रहे थे ।। केचिदेकेन बाणेन सुयुक्तेन सुपत्रिणा । द्वौ त्रयश्न विनिर्भिन्ना निपेतुर्थरणीतले,कुछ हाथी तो अच्छी तरहसे चलाये हुए सुन्दर पंखयुक्त एक ही बाणद्दारा दो-दो तीन- तीनकी संख्यामें एक साथ विदीर्ण होकर पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़ते थे
sañjaya uvāca | yuddhakṣetre maṇḍalīkurvatsu gajeṣu bahavo manuṣyā evaṃ lambamānā dṛśyante sma yathā yantrair iva tatra niyojitāḥ | teṣāṃ kavacāni naṣṭāni | vraṇapīḍitā raktāplutāś ca babhūvuḥ || kecid ekena bāṇena suyuktena supatriṇā | dvau trayas ca vinirbhinnā nipetur dharaṇītale ||
Sañjaya said: On the battlefield, as the elephants wheeled in circles, many men hung from them as though fixed there by some device. Their armour had been shattered; wounded and tormented, they were drenched in blood. And some, struck by a single well-aimed arrow with fine fletching, were pierced through—two or even three at once—and fell down upon the earth.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim reality of war: skill and weaponry can turn human life into something expendable. Ethically, it presses the listener to recognize the cost of violence—beyond victory and strategy—by foregrounding suffering, bodily vulnerability, and the dehumanizing momentum of battle.
Sañjaya describes a chaotic battlefield scene with elephants circling. Men hang from the elephants, their armor destroyed and bodies bleeding. He then notes that a single well-aimed, well-fletched arrow can pierce through two or three at once, who then collapse to the ground.