Shloka 18
आत्मदोष-उपदेशः तथा भीम-धृष्टद्युम्नयोः संयोगः
Self-Causation Counsel and the Bhīma–Dhṛṣṭadyumna Convergence
बश्रमु: कुण्जराश्षात्र शरैविद्धा निरड्कुशा: । अश्वाश्न पर्यधावन्त हतारोहा दिशो दश,जिनके सवार मारे गये थे, वे अंकुशरहित गजराज बाणविद्ध होकर वहाँ इधर-उधर चक्कर काट रहे थे। सवारोंके मारे जानेसे घोड़े भी शराघातसे पीड़ित हो चारों ओर दौड़ लगा रहे थे
sañjaya uvāca | kuñjarāḥ śaraiḥ viddhā nir-aṅkuśāḥ hatārohā diśo daśa paryadhāvanta | aśvā api śarāghāta-pīḍitāḥ hatārohāḥ sarvato dhāvanta |
Sañjaya said: The great elephants, pierced by arrows and now beyond the control of the goad, with their riders slain, ran wildly in all ten directions. The horses too, their riders killed and themselves tormented by the blows of arrows, bolted about on every side. The scene underscores how, once human restraint and responsibility collapse in war, even noble animals are driven into blind panic and suffering.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the collateral suffering and moral disorder produced by war: when riders (human guidance and responsibility) are slain, animals become uncontrollable, and violence spreads beyond intended targets, revealing the ethical cost of battle.
Sañjaya describes battlefield chaos: arrow-wounded elephants, no longer controlled by the goad and with riders dead, stampede in all directions; similarly, riderless horses, hurt by arrow-strikes, run about everywhere.