Shloka 6
रथं ससूतं सहयं च कज्चित् कश्रिद्रथी मृत्युवशं निनाय । निनाय चाप्येकगजेन कश्रिद् रथान् बहून् मृत्युवशे तथाश्वान्
rathaṁ sasūtaṁ sahayaṁ ca kaścit kaścid rathī mṛtyuvaśaṁ nināya | nināya cāpy ekagajena kaścid rathān bahūn mṛtyuvaśe tathāśvān |
Sañjaya said: In that tumult of battle, one chariot-warrior sent another to death—chariot, charioteer, and attendants all together. And another hero, using a single elephant, likewise drove many chariots and even horses into the grasp of death. The scene reveals the relentless, indiscriminate momentum of war, where prowess swiftly becomes widespread destruction.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim ethical reality of war: individual valor can rapidly become mass destruction, and life on the battlefield is precarious—drawn swiftly under the dominion of death. It implicitly invites reflection on the cost of conflict and the fragility of embodied life.
Sañjaya describes intense fighting where one chariot-warrior kills another along with his entire chariot-team, and elsewhere a warrior, aided by a single elephant, causes the death of many chariot-fighters and horses—emphasizing the scale and speed of slaughter.