Shloka 14
भीमसेनस्य बहुमहारथसंयुगः
Bhīmasena’s Engagement with Multiple Mahārathas
मुण्डतालवनानीव चकार स रथव्रजान् । निर्मनुष्यान् रथान् राजन् गजाननश्चांश्व संयुगे
sañjaya uvāca
muṇḍatālavanānīva cakāra sa rathavrajān |
nirmanuṣyān rathān rājan gajān aśvāṁś ca saṁyuge ||
Sañjaya berkata: Wahai Raja, di tengah-tengah pertempuran dia menjadikan gerombolan kereta perang seperti rimba pokok palmyra yang dipangkas—meninggalkan kereta tanpa orangnya, dan dalam pertempuran itu dia turut menjatuhkan gajah serta kuda. Ayat ini menegaskan kecekapan perang yang muram: keperkasaan yang dipuji sebagai kemahiran tempur akhirnya melucutkan nyawa dan daya gerak daripada alat dan para peserta pertempuran dengan pantas.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the stark moral atmosphere of war: martial excellence can rapidly turn living forces into lifeless instruments. It invites reflection on the cost of kṣatriya duty—valor and skill are praised, yet their immediate fruit is destruction and the sudden emptiness (nirmānuṣyatā) of what moments before was full of life.
Sañjaya reports to the king that a particular warrior (identified in the surrounding passage) is cutting down the chariot formations so thoroughly that the battlefield resembles a grove of palmyra trees with their tops lopped off; chariots are left without their riders, and elephants and horses are also struck down amid the fighting.