Shloka 31
तस्याश्वसादीन् सुबहूंस्ते निहत्य शितै: शरै:ः
tasyāśvasādīn subahūṁs te nihatya śitaiḥ śaraiḥ
Sanjaya said: Having slain many of his horses and other attendants with keen arrows, he pressed the attack further—an image of the war’s relentless logic, where skill and fury eclipse compassion and the battlefield reduces living supports of a warrior to targets.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grim momentum of war: once combat is joined, even the supporting elements of a warrior—horses and attendants—become legitimate targets, revealing how violence spreads beyond the principal fighters and tests the boundaries of dharma in practice.
Sanjaya reports that, in the ongoing battle, many horses and other associated combat-support elements belonging to a particular warrior are cut down by sharp arrows, indicating a decisive, escalating strike meant to cripple mobility and combat capacity.