Shloka 213
जीवन्त इव तत्र सम व्यदृश्यन्त भयार्दिता: | बहुत-से रथी घोड़े और सारथिके मारे जानेपर भयसे पीड़ित हो ऐसे निश्रैष्ट हो गये थे कि जीवित होते हुए भी वहाँ मरेके समान दिखायी देते थे
sañjaya uvāca | jīvanta iva tatra sama vyadṛśyanta bhayārditāḥ |
Sañjaya said: Stricken by fear, they appeared there as though still alive, yet like the dead—so stunned and spiritless were many warriors when their charioteers and horses had been slain. The verse underscores how terror and shock can hollow out a person’s agency in war, leaving the body standing while courage and resolve collapse within.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral-psychological truth that fear can render a person functionally inert: even while alive, one may appear 'dead' in spirit. In the dharma context, it warns that courage and steadiness are essential for those bound to battlefield duty, and that panic can dissolve responsibility and discernment.
Sañjaya describes a battlefield moment where many fighters, after losing their horses and charioteers, become overwhelmed by fear. They stand or remain present but are so shocked and helpless that they look like living corpses—alive in body, defeated in will.