Shloka 983
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
अताडयंस्तथाभज्जंस्तथामृदनंश्च॒ भारत । भारत! हाथी हाथियोंपर और बिना सवारके घोड़े घोड़ोंपर आक्रमण करके एक- दूसरेपर चोट करने लगे। उन्होंने अंग-भंग करके एक-दूसरेको रौंद डाला
sañjaya uvāca | atāḍayaṃs tathābhajjaṃs tathā mṛdnantaś ca bhārata |
Sañjaya said: O Bhārata, they struck, shattered, and trampled one another. Elephants charged at elephants, and riderless horses rushed upon horses, wounding each other; with limbs broken, they crushed one another underfoot—an image of war’s chaos where even animals, bereft of guidance, become instruments and victims of destruction.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how war unleashes uncontrolled destruction: when order and discernment collapse, even animals—normally guided by humans—turn upon each other, illustrating the ethical cost and indiscriminate suffering produced by violence.
Sañjaya describes battlefield turmoil in the Sauptika episode: elephants clash with elephants and riderless horses collide with horses, striking, breaking, and trampling each other amid the carnage.