Shloka 44
अध्याय २९: कर्णस्य शल्यं प्रति शापस्मरणं च युद्धनिश्चयः | Chapter 29: Karṇa recalls curses to Śalya and declares resolve for battle
ततो रक्ष: पिशाचाश्न श्वापदाश्षैव संघश: । जग्मुरायोधन घोर रुद्रस्याक्रीडसंनिभम्,तदनन्तर रुद्रके क्रीडास्थल (श्मशान)-सदृश उस भयंकर युद्धभूमिमें राक्षस, पिशाच और झुंड-के-झुंड हिंसक जीव-जन्तु जा पहुँचे
tato rakṣaḥ piśācāś ca śvāpadāś caiva saṅghaśaḥ | jagmur āyodhanaṃ ghoraṃ rudrasyākrīḍa-sannibham ||
Sañjaya sprach: Danach zogen Scharen von Rākṣasas und Piśācas, zusammen mit Rudeln wilder Tiere, zu jenem schrecklichen Schlachtfeld hin—gleichsam dem Spielplatz Rudras, einem Verbrennungsplatz vergleichbar.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral and existential cost of war: when violence becomes extreme, the battlefield resembles a cremation-ground realm, symbolically linked to Rudra’s fierce domain. It suggests that unchecked destruction invites inauspicious forces and predatory scavengers—an ethical warning about the dehumanizing aftermath of adharma-driven conflict.
Sañjaya describes how rākṣasas, piśācas, and wild beasts arrive in groups at the dreadful battlefield, which is compared to Rudra’s playground—emphasizing the terrifying atmosphere and the presence of death-associated beings drawn to the carnage.