Shloka 783
युधिष्ठिरस्य धनंजय-प्रति गर्हा
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Reproach to Dhanaṃjaya
पत्तय: पत्तिभिनागा: सह नागैहयैहया: । युद्धस्थलमें रथियोंके साथ रथी, पैदलोंके साथ पैदल, हाथियोंके साथ हाथी और घोड़ोंके साथ घोड़े विचित्र युद्ध करते थे
pattayaḥ pattibhir nāgāḥ saha nāgaiḥ hayā hayaiḥ | yuddhasthale rathibhiḥ saha rathī, paidalaiḥ saha paidalaḥ, hastibhiḥ saha hastī, aśvaiḥ saha aśvaḥ vicitraṃ yuddhaṃ cakruḥ ||
Sañjaya said: On the battlefield the combatants met their like—foot-soldiers with foot-soldiers, elephants with elephants, horses with horses, and chariot-warriors with chariot-warriors—each engaging in a strange and varied clash, as the war’s order dissolved into fierce, matching duels.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the impersonal, system-like nature of war: each arm of the army meets its counterpart, suggesting how conflict reduces individuals to roles and units. Ethically, it underscores the grim inevitability of battle once dharma has been eclipsed by hostility—order persists only as tactical matching, not as moral harmony.
Sañjaya describes the fighting as it unfolds: infantry engage infantry, elephants clash with elephants, horses with horses, and chariot-warriors duel chariot-warriors. The scene conveys a dense, varied melee where similar forces collide across the field.