Shloka 55
धृतराष्ट्र–संजय संवादः: कर्ण–घटोत्कचयोर्निशायुद्धवर्णनम्
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Sañjaya Dialogue: Description of the Night Engagement of Karṇa and Ghaṭotkaca
महीमालिड्ग्य सर्वज्ञि: पांसुध्वस्तशिरोरुहान् । पश्य योधान् महाबाहो त्वच्छरैर्भिन्नविग्रहान्,महाबाहो! तुम्हारे बाणोंसे जिनके शरीर छिन्न-भिन्न हो रहे हैं, उन योद्धाओंकी दशा तो देखो। उनके बाल धूलमें सन गये हैं और वे अपने सम्पूर्ण अंगोंसे इस पृथ्वीका आलिंगन करके सो रहे हैं
śrīkṛṣṇa uvāca | mahīm āliṅgya sarvajñaḥ pāṃsu-dhvasta-śiroruḥān | paśya yodhān mahābāho tvac-charair bhinna-vigrahān ||
Śrī Kṛṣṇa sprach: „O du mit den mächtigen Armen, sieh diese Krieger—von deinen Pfeilen am Leib zerrissen. Ihr Haar ist mit Staub verfilzt, und die Erde mit allen Gliedern umschlingend liegen sie da, als schliefen sie.“
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Kṛṣṇa compels the warrior to confront the tangible aftermath of his own martial action. The verse highlights ethical awareness in warfare: even when fighting is framed as duty, one must not become numb to suffering or treat death as abstract.
On the battlefield, Kṛṣṇa addresses the mighty-armed hero (commonly Arjuna) and points to fallen fighters. Their bodies are pierced and broken by the hero’s arrows; dust clings to their hair as they lie on the ground, ‘embracing the earth’ like sleepers—an image that intensifies the scene’s pathos.