Shloka 993
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
न्यपातयंस्तथा चान्यान् पातयित्वा तदापिषन् | परस्पर आघात करते हुए वे हाथी, घोड़े स्वयं भी घायल होकर गिर जाते थे तथा दूसरोंको भी गिरा देते और गिराकर उनका कचूमर निकाल देते थे
nyapātayaṃs tathā cānyān pātayitvā tadāpiṣan | paraspara-āghātaṃ kurvanto te hastino 'śvāḥ svayam api ghāyitvā nipetire tathāpareṣāṃ ca pātayitvā teṣāṃ piṣṭaṃ cakruḥ ||
Sinabi ni Sañjaya: Sa siksikan ng labanan, nagbabanggaan sila nang harapan. Ang mga elepante at kabayo, na sugatan na rin, ay bumabagsak; at sa pagbagsak nila’y may nadadamay pang iba, at matapos maibagsak ay dinudurog hanggang wasak—larawan ng bulag na pag-igpaw ng digmaan, kung saan dumarami ang karahasan at ang mga nabuwal ay pinagkakaitan maging ng sandaling pahinga.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how violence in war becomes self-propagating: even the powerful (elephants, horses) are wounded and destroyed, and in their fall they destroy others. Ethically, it highlights the dehumanizing momentum of conflict and the cascading consequences of harm.
Sañjaya describes intense battlefield collisions where elephants and horses, striking each other, are injured and collapse; as they fall they knock down others and crush them, conveying the chaos and brutality of the fighting.