Shloka 57

Devanagari script

गजवाजिमनुष्याणां शरीराणि शितै: शरै:

Transliteration

gajavājimanuṣyāṇāṃ śarīrāṇi śitaiḥ śaraiḥ

Translation

Dijo Sañjaya: Con flechas afiladas como navajas, los cuerpos de elefantes, caballos y hombres eran alcanzados y desgarrados: imagen de la violencia indiscriminada de la batalla, donde los seres vivos se vuelven simples blancos cuando se derrumban el freno y la compasión.

Word by Word

• गज: of elephants
• गज: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गज
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• वाजि: of horses
• वाजि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाजि
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• मनुष्याणाम्: of men
• मनुष्याणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनुष्य
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• शरीराणि: bodies
• शरीराणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरीर
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• शितैः: with sharp
• शितैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शित
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• शरैः: arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• elephants
• horses
• men
• arrows

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the ethical gravity of war: even when framed as kṣatriya-duty, battle produces widespread suffering that does not discriminate between mighty beasts and human warriors, reminding the listener of the human and moral cost behind heroic narratives.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing the battlefield scene in Karṇa Parva: sharp arrows are striking the bodies of elephants, horses, and men, conveying the intensity of the fighting and the scale of casualties.