Shloka 70
पातयन् रथिनो राजन् हयांश्व सहसादिभि: । मुण्डतालवनानीव चकार स रथव्रजान्,राजन! रथियोंको गिराकर और सवारोंसहित घोड़ोंको मारकर उन्होंने रथोंके समुदायको मुण्डित ताड़वनके समान कर दिया
pātayan rathino rājan hayāṁś ca sahasādibhiḥ | muṇḍatālavanānīva cakāra sa rathavrajān ||
Sanjaya berkata: “Wahai Raja, dengan menjatuhkan para pahlawan kereta perang dan dengan pantas menewaskan kuda-kuda bersama penunggang serta para pengiringnya, Bhishma menjadikan himpunan kereta itu seperti rimba palma yang dicukur—gondol, patah dan hancur dalam amukan pertempuran.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse does not offer a direct moral injunction; it exemplifies the epic’s portrayal of kṣatriya warfare where prowess and tactical destruction are narrated with vivid imagery. Ethically, it underscores the grim cost of conflict—how quickly martial power can strip an army bare, like a grove shorn of its crowns.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a powerful warrior is cutting down chariot-fighters and killing the horses with their riders/attendants, leaving the assembled chariots devastated—compared to a palm-forest that has been lopped and made bare.