Shloka 38

अजिशीर्षे प्रातःसंध्यायां संग्रामवर्णनम् / Dawn-Transition Battle at Ajiśīrṣa

Chapter 161

Devanagari script

हयानां वध्यमानानां गजानां रथिनां तथा

Transliteration

hayānāṁ vadhyamānānāṁ gajānāṁ rathināṁ tathā

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: “Ketika kuda-kuda ditebas, demikian pula gajah-gajah dan para kesatria berkereta…,”—ia mulai melukiskan kehancuran yang kian menumpuk di medan laga.

Word by Word

• हयानाम्: of horses
• हयानाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: हय
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• वध्यमानानाम्: being slain
• वध्यमानानाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वध्यमान (√वध्)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

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

• रथिनाम्: of chariot-warriors
• रथिनाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथिन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• तथा: and likewise/also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• horses (hayāḥ)
• elephants (gajāḥ)
• chariot-warriors (rathinaḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line highlights the comprehensive destructiveness of war: not only warriors but also animals and the very means of combat are destroyed. Ethically, it invites reflection on the collateral suffering and the heavy karmic and social cost that accompanies martial duty when violence escalates beyond restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing the battlefield scene in Drona Parva, portraying ongoing slaughter—horses, elephants, and chariot-warriors being killed—setting the tone for a larger account of intense fighting and its grim consequences.