Shloka 22
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Sañjaya-saṃvādaḥ; madhyāhna-saṅgrāma-pravṛttiḥ
Dhritarashtra–Sanjaya dialogue and the midday battle escalation
स तस्य हृदयं भित्त्वा पीत्वा शोणितमाहवे । जगाम धरणीं बाणो लोठितार्द्रवरच्छद:,वह बाण शंखकी छाती छेदकर रणभूमिमें उसका रक्त पीकर धरतीमें समा गया। उसके श्रेष्ठ पंख लोहूमें भीगकर लाल हो रहे थे
sa tasya hṛdayaṁ bhittvā pītvā śoṇitam āhave | jagāma dharaṇīṁ bāṇo loṭhitārdra-varacchadaḥ ||
فشقّ السهمُ قلبَه، وفي ضراوة المعركة كأنّه ارتشف دمَه، ثم غاص في الأرض. وكانت ريشاته الدقيقة ملطّخةً ومشبعةً بالدم، قد احمرّت من الغور.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is not a doctrinal instruction but a stark narrative image: in war, actions have immediate and irreversible consequences. It implicitly highlights the ethical gravity of kṣatriya combat—heroic duty is inseparable from real suffering and bloodshed.
Sañjaya describes an arrow that pierces a warrior’s heart; the arrow is poetically said to ‘drink’ the blood, then sinks into the earth with its feathers stained and soaked red.