Shloka 17
Cakravyūha-saṃkalpaḥ, Saṃśaptaka-āhvānaṃ, Saubhadra-vikrīḍitam
Drona Parva, Adhyāya 32
कार्ष्णायसतनुत्राणान् नराश्वरथकुञ्जरान्
kārṣṇāyasatanu-trāṇān narāśva-ratha-kuñjarān
サンジャヤは言った。「（彼らは見た。）鉄の胴鎧に守られた兵、馬、戦車、そして象を。――それは、戦が身も心も硬くしてゆく姿であり、命が慈悲によってではなく、鎧と力によって保たれるという徴であった。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grim ethic of battlefield survival: protection is sought through material defenses (iron armor) and organized force (men, horses, chariots, elephants). It implicitly contrasts the necessity of martial preparedness with the moral cost of a world where safety depends on weaponry rather than restraint.
Sañjaya is describing the battlefield scene in Drona Parva: the combatants and their war-machines—infantry, cavalry, chariots, and elephants—are arrayed and armored in iron, emphasizing the scale and intensity of the fighting.