Shloka 256
भीमसेनस्य बहुमहारथसंयुगः
Bhīmasena’s Engagement with Multiple Mahārathas
न्यपतन्त गतप्राणा: शतशो5थ सहस्रश: । राजन! जिनके सवार मार दिये गये थे, ऐसे हाथी और घोड़े सैकड़ों और हजारोंकी संख्यामें निष्प्राण होकर पड़े थे
nyapatanta gataprāṇāḥ śataśo ’tha sahasraśaḥ |
サञ्जयは言った。「大王よ、幾百、いや幾千もの戦象と戦馬が—その騎手を討たれたものどもが—息絶えて倒れ、戦場一面に動かぬまま横たわっていた。戦いが人のみならず、その奉仕に縛られた生きものまでも呑み込むとき、いかなる破滅が後に残るかを示す、冷ややかな証しであった。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral cost of war: death spreads beyond warriors to animals and dependents, highlighting impermanence and the collateral suffering that accompanies armed conflict even when framed within kṣatriya duty.
Sañjaya reports to the king that the battlefield is strewn with lifeless elephants and horses in vast numbers, especially those whose riders have already been killed, emphasizing the scale and devastation of the fighting.