Shloka 34
Adhyāya 74 (Book 6, Bhīṣma-parva): Bhīma–Duryodhana re-engagement and afternoon escalation
शराहता भिन्नदेहा बद्धयोक्त्रा हयोत्तमा: | युगानि पर्यकर्षन्त तत्र तत्र सम भारत,भारत! कितने ही उत्तम घोड़ोंके शरीर बाणोंसे आहत होकर क्षत-विक्षत हो गये थे, तो भी रथके साथ रस्सीमें बँधे हुए थे, इसलिये रथके जूओंको इधर-उधर खींचते रहते थे
śarāhatā bhinnadehā baddhayoktrā hayottamāḥ | yugāni paryakarṣanta tatra tatra sma bhārata ||
Sañjaya said: Though struck by arrows and their bodies torn and mangled, the finest horses—still fastened by the yoke-straps—kept dragging the yokes this way and that on the battlefield, driven by pain and the relentless momentum of war. The scene underscores the pitiless mechanics of combat, where even noble creatures, bound by harness and duty, are forced to move despite grievous injury.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh ethical reality of war: suffering extends beyond warriors to animals and all who are bound into the machinery of battle. It implicitly invites reflection on compassion and the moral cost of violence, even when war is pursued under claims of duty.
Sañjaya describes wounded chariot-horses on the battlefield. Even with bodies pierced and torn by arrows, they remain harnessed to the chariot by yoke-straps and therefore keep pulling the yokes in different directions, likely in confusion and pain amid the chaos.