Shloka 29
कर्णस्य दानप्रतिज्ञा–शल्योपदेश–वाक्ययुद्धम्
Karna’s Gift-Vows, Shalya’s Counsel, and the Battle of Words
क्षुण्णगात्रा महाराज विक्षिप्य च पुन: पुनः । अपरे व्यजनानीव विकश्राम्य निहता मृथे
kṣuṇṇagātrā mahārāja vikṣipya ca punaḥ punaḥ | apare vyajanānīva vikāśrāmya nihatā mṛdhe ||
Sañjaya sprach: O König, manche Krieger, deren Glieder zermalmt waren, wurden gepackt und immer wieder geschleudert; andere wirbelte man wie Handfächer umher und erschlug sie auf dem Schlachtfeld. Viele riesenhafte Elefanten brachen in das Heer ein: plötzlich packten sie Fußsoldaten, schleuderten und schüttelten ihre Leiber wieder und wieder, bis sie zerschmettert waren; andere drehten sie wie Fächer und töteten sie im Kampf.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the dehumanizing brutality of war: once battle is unleashed, bodies are treated as objects to be crushed, flung, and whirled. It implicitly warns that even when framed as kṣatriya duty, warfare carries grave ethical cost and widespread suffering.
Sañjaya reports to the king that in the fighting, some warriors are repeatedly seized and hurled, their limbs crushed; others are swung around ‘like hand-fans’ and killed. It is a vivid battlefield image of combatants being violently tossed and slain.