Shloka 14

Devanagari script

हतैर्गजमनुष्याश्वैभिन्नैश्व बहुधा रथै: । विशस्त्रयन्त्रकवर्चैर्युद्धशौण्डैर्गतासुभि:

Transliteration

hatair gaja-manuṣyāśvaiḥ bhinnaiś ca bahudhā rathaiḥ | viśastra-yantra-kavacair yuddha-śauṇḍair gatāsubhiḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: Medan perang berselerak dengan gajah, manusia dan kuda yang terbunuh, serta banyak kereta perang yang hancur dalam pelbagai rupa. Para pahlawan yang mahir bertempur terbaring tidak bernyawa, dengan senjata, kelengkapan dan zirah mereka musnah.

Word by Word

हतैःby the slain

गजelephant

मनुष्यman

अश्वैःby horses

भिन्नैःby the shattered/broken

चand

बहुधाin many ways / variously

रथैःby chariots

विशस्त्रweaponless / deprived of weapons

यन्त्रequipment/gear

कवर्चैःby armours

युद्धशौण्डैःby battle-experts / war-ardent (men)

गतासुभिःby those whose life-breath had departed (dead)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

elephants

men

horses

chariots

weapons

armor

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the grim reality and moral weight of war: even the most skilled warriors and the finest instruments of battle end as broken remnants. It implicitly cautions that martial glory is transient, while the consequences—death and devastation—are enduring.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield after intense fighting: corpses of elephants, men, and horses lie scattered; chariots are smashed; and battle-expert warriors are dead, stripped of weapons and with their armor and chariot-gear ruined.