Shloka 21
कृष्णेन अर्जुनस्य प्रोत्साहनम् — Kṛṣṇa’s Exhortation to Arjuna
Prelude to Karṇa’s Slaying
हयाश्न निहता बाणैहेमभाण्डविभूषिता: । निषेदुश्चैव मम्लुश्न बश्रमुश्न दिशो दश,सोनेके आभूषणोंसे विभूषित बहुसंख्यक घोड़े बाणोंद्वारा घायल होकर बैठ जाते, मलिन हो जाते और दसों दिशाओंमें भागने लगते थे
hayāś ca nihatā bāṇair hemabhāṇḍa-vibhūṣitāḥ | niṣeduś caiva mamluś ca bhraṃśamuś ca diśo daśa ||
Sañjaya said: Many horses, adorned with golden trappings, were struck down by arrows. Wounded, they sank to the ground, grew sullied and weakened, and in panic scattered—fleeing toward all ten directions. The scene underscores the impersonal devastation of war, where even splendidly equipped beings become helpless amid the violence unleashed by human resolve.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the indiscriminate suffering caused by war: even magnificent, well-equipped creatures collapse and scatter in fear. It implicitly cautions that martial glory is fragile and that violence rapidly reduces splendor to helplessness.
Sañjaya describes battlefield chaos: numerous horses adorned with gold are hit by arrows, collapse or become weakened and dirty, and then flee in all directions, conveying the intensity and confusion of the fighting.