Shloka 10
अध्याय ९९ — युयुधान-दुःशासन-युद्धम्
Chapter 99: Sātyaki and Duḥśāsana’s engagement
कुण्जराश्वनरानन्ये पातयन्ति सम पत्रिभि: | तालमात्राणि चापानि विकर्षन्तो महारथा:,बहुत-से दूसरे महारथी चार हाथके धनुष खींचते हुए अपने पंखयुक्त बाणोंद्वारा हाथी, घोड़े और पैदल मनुष्योंको मार गिराते थे
kuñjarāśvanarān anye pātayanti sama-patribhiḥ | tāla-mātrāṇi cāpāni vikarṣanto mahā-rathāḥ ||
Sanjaya berkata: Para maharatha yang lain, sambil menarik busur sepanjang pohon tāla, menumbangkan gajah, kuda, dan askar pejalan kaki dengan anak panah berbulu. Adegan ini menonjolkan daya perang yang menyapu dan tidak berwajah—di mana kepahlawanan dan senjata menebas makhluk hidup secara beramai-ramai, menegangkan pertentangan antara dharma peperangan dan harga kemanusiaan.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the overwhelming momentum of war and the power of trained warriors, implicitly sharpening the Mahābhārata’s ethical tension: even when fighting is framed as duty (kṣatriya-dharma), the destruction of many lives remains a grave moral reality.
Sañjaya reports that numerous elite warriors are drawing very large bows and shooting feathered arrows, bringing down elephants, horses, and infantry on the battlefield—an image of intense, large-scale combat.