Shloka 18
योधाश्व सर्वे ज्वलिताम्बरा भूृशं प्रदुद्रवुस्तत्र विदग्धवस्त्रा: । शब्दश्न घोरोडतिबभूव तत्र यथा वने वेणुवनस्य दहुत:
sañjaya uvāca |
yodhāśvāḥ sarve jvalitāmbarā bhṛśaṃ pradudruvus tatra vidagdhavastrāḥ |
śabdaś ca ghoro ’tibabhūva tatra yathā vane veṇuvanasyā dahyataḥ ||
Dijo Sañjaya: Allí, todos los guerreros y los caballos, con las vestiduras en llamas y la ropa chamuscada, huyeron en desbandada. Se alzó en aquel lugar un estruendo espantoso, como el bramido en el bosque cuando arde un cañaveral de bambú.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the dehumanizing momentum of war: when violence escalates, even trained warriors and their mounts are driven by panic, and the battlefield becomes like an uncontrollable fire—suggesting an ethical warning about how adharma and unchecked aggression dissolve discipline and compassion.
Sañjaya describes a moment of intense battlefield turmoil: warriors and horses, with garments aflame and clothes scorched, rush about and flee; the noise becomes terrifying, compared to the roar of a bamboo-grove burning in a forest.