Shloka 16

Devanagari script

तस्यापि तुरगा: शीघ्रा हस्तिकाया: खरस्वना: । शतं युक्ता महाकाया मांसशोणितभोजना:,उसके रथमें जुते हुए घोड़े भी हाथीके समान मोटे शरीरवाले, शीघ्रगामी और गदहोंके समान उच्चस्वरसे हिनहिनानेवाले थे। उनकी संख्या सौ थी। वे विशालकाय अश्व मांस और रक्त भोजन करते थे

Transliteration

tasyāpi turagāḥ śīghrā hastikāyāḥ kharasvanāḥ | śataṁ yuktā mahākāyā māṁsaśoṇitabhojanāḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: “Kuda-kuda yang menarik keretanya pun cepat, bertubuh besar laksana gajah, dan bersuara nyaring seperti keledai. Seratus ekor kuda raksasa itu dipasangkan, dan mereka memakan daging serta darah.”

Word by Word

तस्यof him/its

अपिalso/even

तुरगाःhorses

शीघ्राःswift

हस्तिकायाःof elephant-like body / of an elephant-bodied (one)

खरस्वनाःhaving donkey-like sound (loud-neighing)

शतम्a hundred

युक्ताःyoked/harnessed

महाकायाःhuge-bodied

मांसशोणितभोजनाःfeeding on flesh and blood

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

turagāḥ (horses)

ratha (chariot, implied by yuktāḥ)

hastin (elephant, as comparison)

khara (donkey, as comparison)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse is not a direct moral injunction, but its stark imagery functions ethically: it portrays how war magnifies ferocity and abnormality, suggesting the erosion of humane norms when conflict becomes all-consuming.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing the extraordinary horses yoked to a warrior’s chariot—swift, massive, and loud—numbering one hundred, and characterized as feeding on flesh and blood, thereby intensifying the dreadful tone of the ongoing battle.