Shloka 99
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
ते भग्ना: प्रपतन्ति सम निध्नन्तश्न॒ परस्परम्
te bhagnāḥ prapatanti sma nighnantas tu parasparam
Disse Sañjaya: Quebrados e em debandada, continuavam a cair de cabeça, derrubando-se uns aos outros no caos—imagem do colapso moral da guerra, em que o medo e a confusão transformam companheiros em destruidores mútuos.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how warfare, once it descends into panic and disorder, erodes discernment and solidarity; ethical restraint collapses and violence becomes indiscriminate, even turning inward among one’s own side.
Sañjaya describes routed fighters who, in confusion, fall and strike each other—depicting a scene of disarray where the defeated are not merely fleeing but are caught in mutual, chaotic violence.