Shloka 213
जीवन्त इव तत्र सम व्यदृश्यन्त भयार्दिता: | बहुत-से रथी घोड़े और सारथिके मारे जानेपर भयसे पीड़ित हो ऐसे निश्रैष्ट हो गये थे कि जीवित होते हुए भी वहाँ मरेके समान दिखायी देते थे
sañjaya uvāca | jīvanta iva tatra sama vyadṛśyanta bhayārditāḥ |
サンジャヤは言った。恐怖に打ちひしがれ、彼らはそこに生きているようでいて、しかも死者のごとく見えた。御者と馬とを討たれたのち、多くの戦士は震え、気力を失い、息ある身でありながら屍のように立ち尽くしたのである。この句は、戦の恐怖と衝撃が人の主体を空洞にし、身体は残っても勇気と決意が内より崩れ落ちることを示している。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral-psychological truth that fear can render a person functionally inert: even while alive, one may appear 'dead' in spirit. In the dharma context, it warns that courage and steadiness are essential for those bound to battlefield duty, and that panic can dissolve responsibility and discernment.
Sañjaya describes a battlefield moment where many fighters, after losing their horses and charioteers, become overwhelmed by fear. They stand or remain present but are so shocked and helpless that they look like living corpses—alive in body, defeated in will.