Shloka 34
Yuddha-yajña-vyākhyāna (The Battle as Sacrifice): Ambarīṣa–Indra Saṃvāda
शोणितोदा सुसम्पूर्णा दुस्तरा पारगैनरि: । हतनागमहानक्रा परलोकवहाशिवा
śoṇitodā susampūrṇā dustarā pāragair nṛbhiḥ | hatanāga-mahānakrā paralokavahā śivā ||
অম্বৰীষে ক’লে—ৰক্তজলৰে ভৰা সেই নদী সম্পূৰ্ণ পৰিপূৰ্ণ; ঘাট জনা লোকৰ বাবেও তাক পাৰ হোৱাটো দুস্তৰ। তাত মহাকায় কুমিৰ আছে, আৰু নিহত গজৰ দেহ ছড়াই আছে; সি জীৱক পৰলোকলৈ বোৱাই নিয়ে—তথাপি (সেই ভয়ংকৰ কৰ্মতেও) তাক ‘শিৱা’ অৰ্থাৎ ‘মঙ্গলময়ী’ বুলি কোৱা হয়।
अम्बरीष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses stark battlefield/otherworld imagery to underline the moral gravity of violence and death: actions can sweep beings toward the afterlife like an overflowing, perilous river. Calling it ‘śivā’ highlights a paradox—death can be ‘auspicious’ only in the sense that it delivers the inevitable fruit of karma and leads the soul onward, urging ethical restraint and dharmic conduct.
Ambarīṣa describes a terrifying river—filled with blood, crowded with crocodiles, and marked by slain elephants—portraying an almost infernal crossing associated with death and the passage to the next world. The description functions as a warning and a moral illustration within the reflective, didactic tone of Śānti Parva.