Shloka 15
Vāsudeva-Māhātmya: Duryodhana’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Theological Account of Keśava
नासीद् रथपथस्तत्र योधैर्युधि निपातितै: । गजैश्न पतितैर्नीलैर्गिरिशूज्ैरिवावृत:,वहाँ युद्धस्थलमें गिराये हुए योद्धाओं तथा पर्वतके श्याम शिखरोंके समान पड़े हुए हाथियोंसे अवरुद्ध हो जानेके कारण रथोंके आने-जानेके लिये रास्ता नहीं रह गया था
sañjaya uvāca | nāsīd rathapathas tatra yodhair yudhi nipātitaiḥ | gajaiś ca patitair nīlair giriśṛṅgair ivāvṛtaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: There was no longer any passage for chariots there, for the battlefield had become blocked—strewn with warriors fallen in combat and with dark, collapsed elephants that lay like the black peaks of mountains. The scene underscores how war, once unleashed, overwhelms all order and movement, turning the field into an impassable ruin of lives and strength.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the overwhelming, disordering force of war: when violence escalates, even the basic structures that enable action—roads, movement, command—collapse under the weight of death and ruin, reminding the listener of the grave human and moral cost of conflict.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield so crowded with fallen warriors and massive elephants that the chariot-lanes are completely obstructed; movement becomes impossible, conveying the intensity and devastation of the fighting.