Shloka 33

Devanagari script

परिपेतुर्हयाश्चात्र केचिच्छस्त्रकृतव्रणा: । रथान्‌ विपरिकर्षन्तो हतेषु रथयोथधिषु,उस युद्धस्थलमें कितने ही घोड़े अस्त्र-शस्त्रोंक आधातसे घायल होकर अपने रथियोंके मारे जानेके बाद भी रथ खींचते हुए भागते और गिर पड़ते थे

Transliteration

paripetur hayāś cātra kecic chastrakṛtavraṇāḥ | rathān viparikṛṣanto hateṣu rathayodhiṣu ||

Translation

సంజయుడు పలికెను—ఆ యుద్ధభూమిలో కొందరు గుర్రాలు ఆయుధాఘాతాలతో గాయపడి అక్కడక్కడ ఉన్మత్తంగా పరుగెత్తాయి. తమ రథయోధులు హతులైన తరువాత కూడా రథాలను లాగుతూ పారిపోయి చివరకు కూలిపోయాయి.

Word by Word

परिपेतुःfell down / collapsed

हयाःhorses

चand

अत्रhere (in this place/battlefield)

केचित्some

शस्त्रकृतव्रणाःhaving wounds made by weapons

रथान्chariots

विपरिकर्षन्तःdragging / pulling along

हतेषुwhen (they were) slain / among the slain

रथयोथधिषुamong the chariot-warriors (charioteers/fighters on chariots)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

horses (hayāḥ)

chariots (rathāḥ)

chariot-warriors/charioteers (ratha-yodhi)

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 collateral suffering and moral cost of war: even animals, lacking agency in human conflict, are injured and driven onward by the machinery of battle, prompting reflection on compassion and the tragic momentum of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes chaotic scenes on the battlefield where weapon-wounded horses, their chariot-warriors already killed, still pull the chariots in panic and confusion until they finally fall.