Shloka 143

Devanagari script

शिर: प्रध्वंसयामास वक्षस्याक्रम्प कुज्जर: । आर्य! उस युद्धमें कितने मनुष्य बाणोंसे विदीर्ण होकर रथसे नीचे गिर जाते थे। कितने ही योद्धा कवचशून्य हो धरतीपर गिर पड़ते थे और सहसा कोई हाथी उनकी छातीपर पैर रखकर उनके मस्तकको भी कुचल देता था

Transliteration

śiraḥ pradhvaṃsayāmāsa vakṣasy ākramya kuñjaraḥ |

Translation

サञ्जयは語った。「その戦いでは、矢に貫かれた多くの者が戦車から地へと落ちた。鎧を失った戦士たちもまた大地に崩れ、するとたちまち、ある象がその胸に足を置き、頭までも踏み砕いた。」この光景は、戦の容赦なき勢いを示す。守りを失えば、傷は瞬く間に滅びへと変わり、粗暴な力が倒れ伏した者をも呑み込むのである。

Word by Word

शिरःhead

प्रध्वंसयामासdestroyed, crushed

वक्षसिon the chest

आक्रम्यhaving stepped upon

कुञ्जरःelephant

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

elephant (kuñjara)

chariot (implied by ‘fell from the chariot’)

arrows (implied by ‘pierced by arrows’)

armour (implied by ‘without armour’)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the brutal, indiscriminate nature of war: once a warrior is wounded and deprived of protection, destruction can come swiftly and mercilessly. Ethically, it serves as a stark reminder of the human cost of conflict and the fragility of life amid kṣatriya warfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield where warriors, pierced by arrows, fall from their chariots; others fall without armour, and elephants then trample their chests and crush their heads, intensifying the horror and chaos of the fighting.