Shloka 12
अध्याय ९१ — शैनेयस्य गजानीकभेदनं जलसंधवधश्च
Chapter 91: Sātyaki breaks the elephant array and slays Jalasaṃdha
पतितानि न जानन्ति शिरांसि पुरुषर्षभा: । अमृष्यमाणा: संग्रामे कौन्तेयं जयगृद्धिन:,संग्राममें विजयकी अभिलाषा रखनेवाले कितने ही श्रेष्ठ पुरुष कुन्तीपुत्र अर्जुनके प्रति अमर्षशील होकर यह भी न जान पाये कि उनके मस्तक कब कटकर गिर गये
patitāni na jānanti śirāṃsi puruṣarṣabhāḥ | amṛṣyamāṇāḥ saṃgrāme kaunteyaṃ jayagṛddhinaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: In the press of battle, many bull-like heroes—burning with resentment toward Kaunteya (Arjuna) and greedy for victory—did not even realize that their heads had been severed and had fallen.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how rage and victory-lust can eclipse awareness and discernment: in the frenzy of combat, even great men lose self-knowledge and meet sudden destruction, illustrating the ethical peril of ambition ungoverned by restraint.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield effect of Arjuna’s onslaught: warriors, enraged at Arjuna and intent on winning, are struck down so swiftly that they do not even register that their heads have been cut off and have fallen.