Shloka 14

Devanagari script

हतैर्गजमनुष्याश्वैभिन्नैश्व बहुधा रथै: । विशस्त्रयन्त्रकवर्चैर्युद्धशौण्डैर्गतासुभि:

Transliteration

hatair gaja-manuṣyāśvaiḥ bhinnaiś ca bahudhā rathaiḥ | viśastra-yantra-kavacair yuddha-śauṇḍair gatāsubhiḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya nói: Chiến địa ngổn ngang xác voi, người và ngựa, cùng vô số chiến xa bị đập vỡ theo nhiều cách. Những chiến binh lão luyện nằm bất động, đã lìa mạng, vũ khí, cơ cấu chiến xa và áo giáp của họ đều tan nát.

Word by Word

• हतैः: by the slain
• हतैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हत (√हन्)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• गज: elephant
• Type: Noun
• Root: गज
• Form: Masculine, Stem (in compound), —

• मनुष्य: man
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनुष्य
• Form: Masculine, Stem (in compound), —

• अश्वैः: by horses
• अश्वैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्व
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• भिन्नैः: by the shattered/broken
• भिन्नैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भिन्न (√भिद्)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• बहुधा: in many ways / variously
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: बहुधा

• रथैः: by chariots
• रथैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• विशस्त्र: weaponless / deprived of weapons
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विशस्त्र
• Form: —, Stem (in compound), —

• यन्त्र: equipment/gear
• Type: Noun
• Root: यन्त्र
• Form: Neuter, Stem (in compound), —

• कवर्चैः: by armours
• कवर्चैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कवच
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• युद्धशौण्डैः: by battle-experts / war-ardent (men)
• युद्धशौण्डैः: Karana
• Type: Noun/Adjective
• Root: युद्धशौण्ड
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• गतासुभिः: by those whose life-breath had departed (dead)
• गतासुभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गतासु (गता + असु)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• elephants
• men
• horses
• chariots
• weapons
• armor

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the grim reality and moral weight of war: even the most skilled warriors and the finest instruments of battle end as broken remnants. It implicitly cautions that martial glory is transient, while the consequences—death and devastation—are enduring.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield after intense fighting: corpses of elephants, men, and horses lie scattered; chariots are smashed; and battle-expert warriors are dead, stripped of weapons and with their armor and chariot-gear ruined.