Shloka 131
Chapter 12: Arjuna’s suppression of the Saṃśaptakas and duel with Aśvatthāmā
Drauṇi
रथाश्वपत्तयो नागै रथाश्रेभाश्ष पत्तिभि: | रथपत्तिद्विपश्षाश्रै रथैश्षापि नरद्विपा:
rathāśvapattayo nāgai rathāśrebhāś ca pattibhiḥ | rathapattidvipaś cāśrai rathaiś cāpi naradvipāḥ ||
サञ्जयは語った。戦の喧噪のただ中で、戦車・馬・歩兵は象に打ち倒され、車上の戦士は歩兵に襲われ、象と歩兵はまた戦車に押し潰される—かくして人も象も、絡み合う攻勢の中で踏み砕かれていった。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the cyclical, mutually destructive nature of warfare: each arm of the army becomes both hunter and hunted. Ethically, it points to how conflict erodes stability and compassion, reducing living beings to instruments within a violent exchange.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield as different divisions—elephants, chariots, cavalry, and infantry—colliding in shifting patterns of advantage. Elephants trample mixed troops, infantry presses chariot-warriors, and chariots counter elephants and footmen, producing widespread devastation.