Shloka 17
कुण्जराश्नव हता राजन दुद्गर॒ुवुस्ते समन््तत: । अश्वाश्न॒ पर्यधावन्त हतारोहा दिशो दश,राजन्! घायल हाथी सब ओर भागने लगे। जिनके सवार मार दिये गये थे, वे घोड़े भी दसों दिशाओंमें दौड़ लगाने लगे
kuñjarāś ca nava hatā rājan dūraguravaḥ te samantataḥ | aśvāś ca paryadhāvanta hatārohā diśo daśa rājan ||
Sañjaya said: O King, nine elephants were slain, and the remaining great elephants, thrown into panic, fled in every direction. And the horses—whose riders had been killed—ran wildly toward the ten quarters.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores a practical ethical insight of the epic’s war narrative: when leaders and guides fall, even powerful forces lose restraint and become destructive or directionless. It hints at the fragility of order in adharma-driven violence—once control is broken, suffering spreads indiscriminately.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that elephants have been killed and the surviving elephants are fleeing in all directions. Horses whose riders have been slain are also running wildly toward the ten quarters, showing the battlefield’s confusion after heavy losses.