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Shloka 236

Adhyāya 108 — Nimitta-darśana and Drona’s counsel amid Arjuna’s advance (निमित्तदर्शनं द्रोणोपदेशश्च)

यथा सिंहं समासाद्य मृगा: प्राणपरायणा: । जैसे सिंहका सामना पड़ जानेपर मृग भयभीत हो अपने प्राण बचानेके लिये भागते हैं, उसी प्रकार मारे जाते हुए घोड़े भयसे व्याकुल हो इधर-उधर भाग रहे थे

yathā siṁhaṁ samāsādya mṛgāḥ prāṇaparāyaṇāḥ |

ਜਿਵੇਂ ਸਿੰਘ ਦਾ ਸਾਹਮਣਾ ਹੋਣ ਤੇ ਹਿਰਨ ਜਾਨ ਬਚਾਉਣ ਲਈ ਡਰ ਨਾਲ ਭੱਜ ਪੈਂਦੇ ਹਨ, ਓਸੇ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਮਾਰੇ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਘੋੜੇ ਭੈਭੀਤ ਹੋ ਕੇ ਹਰ ਪਾਸੇ ਦੌੜ ਰਹੇ ਸਨ।

यथाjust as
यथा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootयथा
सिंहम्lion
सिंहम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootसिंह
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
समासाद्यhaving approached/encountered
समासाद्य:
TypeVerb
Rootसम्-आ-√सद्
Formल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral for gerund)
मृगाःdeer/animals of the forest
मृगाः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootमृग
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
प्राणपरायणाःintent on saving their lives; life-dependent
प्राणपरायणाः:
TypeAdjective
Rootप्राण-परायण
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural

संजय उवाच

S
Sañjaya
L
lion (siṁha)
D
deer/wild animals (mṛga)
H
horses (implied by context)

Educational Q&A

The verse highlights how, in the face of overwhelming danger, living beings instinctively prioritize the preservation of life; it underscores the terror and chaos that war unleashes even upon animals, revealing the ethical weight of violence.

Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene through a simile: as deer scatter when a lion appears, so the horses being slain are seized by fear and bolt in different directions.