Shloka 113
ते भग्ना विक्षताड्श्च भिन्नपृष्ठाश्न सायकै: । वसुधामन्वपद्यन्त पश्यतस्तस्य रक्षस:,उन घोड़ोंके सारे अंग क्षत-विक्षत हो गये थे, बाणोंकी मारसे उनके पृष्ठभाग फट गये थे, अत: उस राक्षसके देखते-देखते वे पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़े
te bhagnā vikṣatāḍyāś ca bhinnapṛṣṭhāś ca sāyakaiḥ | vasudhām anvapadyanta paśyatas tasya rakṣasaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Those horses, their limbs shattered and torn, their backs split open by the arrows, collapsed to the earth before the very eyes of that rākṣasa. The scene underscores the pitiless momentum of battle, where even the innocent instruments of war—animals bound to human conflict—are destroyed by the relentless exchange of weapons.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh moral reality of war: destruction spreads beyond combatants to dependent beings (like horses). It invites reflection on the ethical cost of violence and the inevitability of suffering once adharma-driven conflict escalates.
Sañjaya describes horses being struck by arrows so severely that their bodies are broken and their backs split; they collapse to the ground as a rākṣasa watches, emphasizing the intensity and brutality of the ongoing battle.