Mahabharata 7.188.22 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 188, Shloka 22

Devanagari script

हतान्‌ गजान्‌ समश््लिष्य पर्वतानिव वाजिन:

Transliteration

hatān gajān samaśliṣya parvatān iva vājinaḥ

Translation

สัญชัยกล่าวว่า: ม้าทั้งหลายเบียดชิดแนบกับช้างที่ถูกสังหาร ดูประหนึ่งภูผา

Word by Word

• हतान्: slain
• हतान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हन् (धातु) → हत (कृदन्त)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• गजान्: elephants
• गजान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गज
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• समाश्लिष्य: having embraced/clasped
• समाश्लिष्य: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ + श्लिष्
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund)

• पर्वतान्: mountains
• पर्वतान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर्वत
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• इव: like/as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• वाजिनः: horses/steeds
• वाजिनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाजिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• गज (elephants)
• वाजिन् (horses/steeds)
• पर्वत (mountains, as simile)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse offers a stark ethical reminder: war deforms the natural order and dignity of life, turning living strength (horses and elephants) into a tableau of death and heaviness, prompting reflection on the human cost behind martial glory.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene where horses crowd against or become entangled with the bodies of slain elephants; the massed forms resemble mountains, emphasizing the scale and devastation of the fighting.