Shloka 383
Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 20 — Yudhiṣṭhira–Duryodhana Encounter and Escalation of Arms
सादिश्रि: पत्तिसंघाश्व निहता युधि शेरते । कितने ही घुड़सवार बड़ी उतावलीके साथ पैदल वीरोंके पास जाकर उनके द्वारा मारे गये तथा झुडं-के-झुंड पैदल सैनिक भी घुड़सवारोंकी चोटसे मारे जाकर युद्धस्थलमें सदाके लिये सो गये थे
sādiśriḥ pattisaṅghāśva nihatā yudhi śerate | kitane hī ghuṛasavāra baṛī utāvalīke sātha paidala vīroṅke pāsa jākar unake dvārā māre gaye tathā jhuṇḍa-ke-jhuṇḍa paidala sainik bhī ghuṛasavāroṅkī coṭase māre jākar yuddhasthalameṃ sadāke liye so gaye the |
Sanjaya said: In that battle, ranks of foot-soldiers and horses lay slain upon the field. Many cavalrymen, rushing forward in reckless haste toward the infantry, were cut down by those foot-warriors; and, in turn, whole clusters of infantry were struck down by the blows of the horsemen, falling on the battlefield as if to sleep there forever. The scene underscores the mutual destructiveness of war, where impatience and aggression quickly become causes of ruin.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the tragic reciprocity of violence in war: rash haste and aggressive advance lead swiftly to destruction, reminding the listener of impermanence and the grave moral weight carried by warriors even when acting within the frame of kshatriya-duty.
Sanjaya describes the battlefield where slain horses, infantry, and cavalry lie scattered. Some horsemen, charging impetuously toward foot-soldiers, are killed by them; elsewhere, groups of infantry are cut down by cavalry blows, leaving the field strewn with the dead.