Shloka 56
Chapter 23: Śakuni Reports, Kaurava Advance, and Arjuna’s Penetration of the Host
दूरं न शक्यं तत्रासीद् गन्तुमश्वेन केनचित् । साथ्चारोहैर्हतैरश्वैरावते वसुधातले,सवारोंसहित घोड़ोंकी लाशोंसे पटे हुए भूतलपर किसीके लिये भी घोड़ेद्वारा दूरतक जाना असम्भव हो गया था
dūraṁ na śakyaṁ tatrāsīd gantum aśvena kenacit | sāśvārūḍhair hatair aśvair āvṛte vasudhātale ||
সঞ্জয় বললেন—সেখানে কারও পক্ষেই অশ্বারূঢ় হয়ে দূরে অগ্রসর হওয়া সম্ভব ছিল না; নিহত ঘোড়া ও তাদের আরোহীদের দেহে ভূমিতল সর্বত্র আচ্ছন্ন হয়ে গিয়েছিল।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tangible consequences of violence: war does not merely decide victory or defeat; it collapses basic order and mobility, turning the earth itself into an obstacle strewn with the dead. It implicitly warns that adharma-driven conflict multiplies suffering beyond the intended targets.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield so choked with the bodies of slain horses and their mounted riders that no one can ride far; movement by horse becomes practically impossible due to the mass of corpses covering the ground.