Shloka 14
४ 5 ६ ९ ऐ । दंशिता: क्रूरकर्माण: काम्बोजा युद्धदुर्मदा: । शरबाणासनधरा यवनाश्ष प्रहारिण:,“जहाँ कवच धारण किये रणदुर्मद क्रूरकर्मा काम्बोज, धनुष-बाण धारण किये प्रहारकुशल यवन, शक, किरात, दरद, बर्बर, ताम्रलिप्त तथा हाथोंमें भाँति-भाँतिके आयुध धारण किये अन्य बहुत-से म्लेच्छ--ये सब-के-सब जहाँ दुर्योधनको अगुआ बनाकर दस्ताने पहने युद्धकी इच्छासे मेरी ओर मुँह करके खड़े हैं, वहीं चलो
sañjaya uvāca | daṃśitāḥ krūrakarmāṇaḥ kāmbojā yuddha-durmadāḥ | śara-bāṇāsana-dharā yavanāś ca prahāriṇaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Armoured and fierce in deed, the Kāmbojas—arrogant with the intoxication of battle—stood ready. The Yavanas too, bearing bows and arrows, skilled in striking, were drawn up for combat. The scene underscores how the war gathers not only kinsmen but also hard-fighting frontier peoples, intensifying the moral weight of a conflict that has expanded beyond a family quarrel into a vast, ruthless contest of power.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the escalation and dehumanizing breadth of war: as more hardened, foreign or frontier fighters assemble, the conflict grows more ruthless, reminding the listener that unchecked ambition expands violence beyond its original cause and deepens the ethical burden.
Sañjaya describes the battle array: armoured Kāmbojas, proud of war, and Yavanas carrying bows and arrows and skilled in attack, standing ready to fight as part of the forces on the battlefield.