Shloka 98
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
गजा गजानतिक्रम्य निर्मनुष्या हया हयान्
gajā gajān atikramya nirmanuṣyā hayā hayān
سنجے نے کہا—ہاتھی ہاتھیوں کو روندتے ہوئے آگے بڑھ گئے اور گھوڑے گھوڑوں سے آگے نکل گئے؛ گویا وہ منظر انسانوں سے خالی ہو گیا ہو۔
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the dehumanizing momentum of war: once violence erupts, even mighty war-animals move in blind panic, and human agency seems to disappear. Ethically, it hints at how adharma in battle produces chaos where life is trampled without discernment.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene in the Sauptika episode: elephants and horses, in confusion and terror, rush past one another. The camp/battlefield appears ‘without men’—suggesting widespread death, flight, or the inability to distinguish people amid the tumult.