Shloka 196
रथा: स्वनन्ति चात्यर्थ हयाश्वाश्रूण्यवासृजन् । माननीय नरेश! द्रोणाचार्यके शस्त्र चलने लगे, रथसे बड़े जोरकी आवाज उठने लगी और घोड़े आँसू बहाने लगे
rathāḥ svananti cātyarthaṃ hayāśvāśrūṇy avāsṛjan | mānanīya nareśa! droṇācāryake śastra calane lage, rathase baṛe jorakī āvāja uṭhane lagī aura ghoṛe ā̃sū bahāne lage
Sañjaya said: “The chariots began to resound with an overwhelming din, and the horses shed tears. O venerable king, as Droṇācārya’s weapons started to move in action, a thunderous roar rose from the chariot, and the steeds themselves wept—an ominous sign that the battle’s violence was crossing ordinary human measure.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames extreme battlefield violence as morally and cosmically weighty: even non-human participants (horses) appear to react with grief, suggesting that adharma and excessive destruction generate ominous signs and collective suffering beyond the warriors themselves.
Sañjaya reports to the king that as Droṇa’s weapons are set into fierce motion, the chariots thunder loudly and the horses shed tears—an evocative, ominous description heightening the dread and intensity of the battle scene.