Shloka 236
Adhyāya 108 — Nimitta-darśana and Drona’s counsel amid Arjuna’s advance (निमित्तदर्शनं द्रोणोपदेशश्च)
यथा सिंहं समासाद्य मृगा: प्राणपरायणा: । जैसे सिंहका सामना पड़ जानेपर मृग भयभीत हो अपने प्राण बचानेके लिये भागते हैं, उसी प्रकार मारे जाते हुए घोड़े भयसे व्याकुल हो इधर-उधर भाग रहे थे
yathā siṁhaṁ samāsādya mṛgāḥ prāṇaparāyaṇāḥ |
サञ्जयは言った。「獅子に対峙した鹿が、ただ命を救わんとして恐怖のうちに逃げ散るように、討たれて倒れる馬たちもまた恐れに乱れ、四方へと駆け回っていた。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in the face of overwhelming danger, living beings instinctively prioritize the preservation of life; it underscores the terror and chaos that war unleashes even upon animals, revealing the ethical weight of violence.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene through a simile: as deer scatter when a lion appears, so the horses being slain are seized by fear and bolt in different directions.