Shloka 19
द्रोण–सात्यकि-युद्धम्
Droṇa–Sātyaki Engagement
चूर्णिताक्षिप्तदग्धानां वजानिलहुताशनै: । तुल्यरूपा गजाः: पेतुर्गियग्राम्बुदवेश्मनाम्
sañjaya uvāca |
cūrṇitākṣiptadagdhānāṁ vajānila-hutāśanaiḥ |
tulyarūpā gajāḥ petur giri-grāmbuda-veśmanām ||
サンジャヤは言った。あの凄惨な混乱のただ中――身体が押し潰され、投げ飛ばされ、武器の金剛の一撃と戦の烈風と貪り食う火に焼かれる中で――象たちは山のように折り重なって倒れ、互いの見分けもつかぬほどであった。まるで山々や村々や雲や高楼が崩れ落ち、廃墟となるかのように。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical and existential cost of war: when violence escalates, it erases individuality and dignity, reducing even powerful beings to indistinguishable casualties—an implicit warning about the dehumanizing nature of unchecked conflict.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene where elephants are being crushed, flung, and burned amid weapon-strokes, fierce winds, and fire; they fall in masses, appearing alike, compared to the collapse of huge structures—mountains, villages, clouds, and mansions.