Shloka 16
विकृष्यमाणैर्जवनैस्तुरड़मै- हतेश्वरै राजरथै: सुकल्पितै: । मनुष्यमातड्ररथाश्वराशिभि- ्रूतं ब्रजन्तो बहुधा विचूर्णिता:,जिनके स्वामी (रथी) मारे गये हैं, राजाओंके उन सुसज्जित रथोंको, जब वेगशाली घोड़े खींचे लिये जाते थे और झुंड-के-झुंड मनुष्य, हाथी, साधारण रथ और अश्व भी भागे जा रहे थे, उस समय उनके द्वारा शीघ्रतापूर्वक भागनेवाले बहुत-से मनुष्य कुचलकर चूर- चूर हो गये हैं
vikṛṣyamāṇair javanaiḥ turaṅgamaiḥ hateśvarai rāja-rathaiḥ sukalpitaiḥ | manuṣya-mātaṅga-rathāśva-rāśibhiḥ drutaṃ vrajanto bahudhā vicūrṇitāḥ ||
Śalya said: As the well-appointed royal chariots—now bereft of their masters, the chariot-warriors—were dragged along by swift horses, and as masses of men, elephants, ordinary chariots, and horses fled in confusion, many who ran in haste were trampled and crushed to pieces. The scene lays bare the moral cost of battle: when leadership falls and order collapses, the innocent and the ordinary are destroyed in the stampede of fear.
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the collateral devastation of war: when commanders fall and discipline breaks, fear-driven flight causes indiscriminate harm. Ethically, it underscores that violence spreads suffering beyond intended targets, crushing even those merely trying to survive.
Śalya describes a battlefield rout: masterless, well-equipped royal chariots are pulled away by swift horses, while crowds of men, elephants, chariots, and horses surge in hurried retreat. In the crush of movement, many are trampled and pulverized.