Shloka 41
अन्योन्यं रथिन: पेतुर्वाजिनश्व॒ महाहवे | कुज्जरान् कुछ्जरा जष्नु: पादातांश्व पदातय:,उस महासमरमें रथी और घोड़े एक-दूसरेपर टूटे पड़ते थे। हाथी हाथियोंको और पैदल पैदल सिपाहियोंको मार रहे थे
anyonyam rathinaḥ petur vājināś ca mahāhave | kuñjarān kuñjarā jaghnuḥ padātāṃś ca padātayaḥ ||
సంజయుడు పలికెను—ఆ మహాసమరంలో రథికులు, అశ్వాలు పరస్పరం ఢీకొని దాడి చేసుకున్నాయి. ఏనుగులు ఏనుగులను, పాదాతులు పాదాతులను సంహరించారు.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse offers a stark battlefield observation: violence tends to become reciprocal and self-perpetuating, with each combatant meeting an equal counterpart. Ethically, it underscores the tragic symmetry of war—where identity (chariot-warrior, horseman, elephant-rider, infantry) does not shield one from the same fate inflicted on others.
Sañjaya describes the intensity of the Kurukṣetra fighting: chariot-fighters and horses collide in close combat; elephants engage and kill other elephants; infantrymen fight and kill other infantrymen. It is a compressed panoramic snapshot of simultaneous clashes across the army’s different divisions.