Shloka 13

Devanagari script

हयानामुत्तम ज्ैश्व हस्तेहस्तैश्न मेदिनी । बाहुभिश्न शिरोभिश्नल वीराणां समकीर्यत,घोड़ोंके मस्तकों, हाथियोंकी सूँड़ों और वीरोंकी भुजाओं तथा सिरोंसे सारी रणभूमि आच्छादित हो गयी थी

Transliteration

hayānām uttamāś caiva hastihastaiś ca medinī | bāhubhiś ca śirobhiś ca vīrāṇāṁ samakīryata ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: The earth of the battlefield was strewn and covered over with the severed heads of horses, the trunks of elephants, and the arms and heads of warriors—so thickly that the ground itself seemed buried beneath the wreckage of war. The verse underscores the grim moral cost of battle: even when fought for a cause, violence leaves a landscape of suffering and irreversible loss.

Word by Word

हयानाम्of horses

उत्तमexcellent/best

जैश्वJaiśva (proper name/epithet; uncertain reading)

हस्तेin/at the hand; in the trunk (of an elephant) (contextual)

हस्तैःby/with hands; by/with trunks

मेदिनीthe earth/ground (battlefield)

बाहुभिःby/with arms

शिरोभिःby/with heads

वीराणाम्of heroes/warriors

समकीर्यतwas strewn/was covered (all over)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

horses

elephants

warriors

battlefield/earth (medinī)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse offers a stark reminder of the human and moral cost of warfare: even when framed as duty, battle produces widespread destruction, urging reflection on violence, responsibility, and the gravity of dharma in action.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the horrific state of the battlefield, describing the ground covered with severed heads of horses, elephant trunks, and the arms and heads of fallen warriors.