Shloka 18
आत्मदोष-उपदेशः तथा भीम-धृष्टद्युम्नयोः संयोगः
Self-Causation Counsel and the Bhīma–Dhṛṣṭadyumna Convergence
बश्रमु: कुण्जराश्षात्र शरैविद्धा निरड्कुशा: । अश्वाश्न पर्यधावन्त हतारोहा दिशो दश,जिनके सवार मारे गये थे, वे अंकुशरहित गजराज बाणविद्ध होकर वहाँ इधर-उधर चक्कर काट रहे थे। सवारोंके मारे जानेसे घोड़े भी शराघातसे पीड़ित हो चारों ओर दौड़ लगा रहे थे
sañjaya uvāca | kuñjarāḥ śaraiḥ viddhā nir-aṅkuśāḥ hatārohā diśo daśa paryadhāvanta | aśvā api śarāghāta-pīḍitāḥ hatārohāḥ sarvato dhāvanta |
三阇耶说道：巨象被箭矢贯穿，驭象者已亡，遂不受象钩约束，狂奔四散，冲向十方。群马亦然——骑者被杀，自身又受箭创折磨——在四面八方惊奔。此景表明：当战争中人的节制与责任崩塌之时，连高贵的牲灵也被驱入盲目的恐惧与痛苦。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the collateral suffering and moral disorder produced by war: when riders (human guidance and responsibility) are slain, animals become uncontrollable, and violence spreads beyond intended targets, revealing the ethical cost of battle.
Sañjaya describes battlefield chaos: arrow-wounded elephants, no longer controlled by the goad and with riders dead, stampede in all directions; similarly, riderless horses, hurt by arrow-strikes, run about everywhere.