Shloka 22
Devanagari script
हतान् गजान् समश््लिष्य पर्वतानिव वाजिन:
Transliteration
hatān gajān samaśliṣya parvatān iva vājinaḥ
Translation
Sañjaya dit : Les chevaux, serrés contre les éléphants abattus, semblaient des montagnes.
Word by Word
हतान्slain
हतान्:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootहन् (धातु) → हत (कृदन्त)
FormMasculine, Accusative, Plural
गजान्elephants
गजान्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootगज
FormMasculine, Accusative, Plural
समाश्लिष्यhaving embraced/clasped
समाश्लिष्य:
Karma
TypeVerb
Rootसम् + आ + श्लिष्
FormAbsolutive (Gerund)
पर्वतान्mountains
पर्वतान्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootपर्वत
FormMasculine, Accusative, Plural
इवlike/as
इव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootइव
वाजिनःhorses/steeds
वाजिनः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootवाजिन्
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
Speaker
संजय उवाच
Characters & Entities
स
संजय (Sañjaya)ग
गज (elephants)व
वाजिन् (horses/steeds)प
पर्वत (mountains, as simile)Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
The verse offers a stark ethical reminder: war deforms the natural order and dignity of life, turning living strength (horses and elephants) into a tableau of death and heaviness, prompting reflection on the human cost behind martial glory.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene where horses crowd against or become entangled with the bodies of slain elephants; the massed forms resemble mountains, emphasizing the scale and devastation of the fighting.