Shloka 553

Devanagari script

निर्मनुष्यान्‌ गजस्कन्धान्‌ पादातांश्वैव विद्रुतान्‌ । भारत! उसने रथकी बैठकें सूनी कर दीं, घोड़ोंकी पीठें खाली कर दीं, हाथियोंके पीठों और कंधोंपर कोई मनुष्य नहीं रहने दिये और पैदलोंको भी मार भगाया

Transliteration

nirmanuṣyān gajaskandhān pādātāṁś caiva vidrutān | bhārata!

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O Bhārata, he made the chariot-seats empty, left the horses’ backs without riders, cleared the elephants’ shoulders of men, and drove the foot-soldiers into flight.”

Word by Word

निर्मनुष्यान्devoid of men, manless

गजस्कन्धान्elephants' shoulders/backs (elephant-riders' seats)

पादातान्foot-soldiers, infantrymen

चand

एवindeed, also, just

विद्रुतान्fled, routed (having run away)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhārata (Dhṛtarāṣṭra as addressee)

elephants (gaja)

infantry (pādāta)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the immediate human cost and destabilizing force of war: when leadership and protection collapse, even organized units (chariots, cavalry, elephant corps, infantry) become empty or scattered. Ethically, it underscores how violence produces fear and disorder, not merely victory.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a powerful warrior’s assault has broken formations: chariots are left without occupants, horses and elephants are without riders, and the foot-soldiers have been driven into flight.