Shloka 16

Devanagari script

दशाश्वानां सहस्राणि दन्तिनां च तथैव च

Transliteration

daśāśvānāṁ sahasrāṇi dantināṁ ca tathaiva ca

Translation

Sañjaya dijo: «Decenas de miles de caballos, y asimismo elefantes»—una enumeración severa que subraya la inmensidad de las fuerzas reunidas para la guerra, donde el mero número y el pertrecho presagian el vasto sufrimiento y el peso moral del conflicto venidero.

Word by Word

• दश: ten
• दश: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दश
• Form: —, —, —

• अश्वानाम्: of horses
• अश्वानाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्व
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• सहस्राणि: thousands
• सहस्राणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Plural

• दन्तिनाम्: of elephants (tusked ones)
• दन्तिनाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दन्तिन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• तथा: likewise/so
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• horses (aśva)
• elephants (dantin)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how war is driven and measured by vast resources—horses and elephants—inviting reflection on the ethical burden of large-scale violence and the human cost hidden behind numerical strength.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is reporting battlefield preparations/strength by listing enormous numbers of cavalry and war-elephants, emphasizing the magnitude of the armies involved.