Shloka 47
अस्त्रयुद्धे द्रौणिपार्थसंघर्षः — Karṇa’s Bhārgavāstra and the Search for Yudhiṣṭhira
Chapter 45
पश्य कड्कांश्व गृध्रांश्ष समवेतान् सहस्रश:
paśya kaṅkāṃś ca gṛdhrāṃś ca samavetān sahasraśaḥ
Sañjaya sprach: „Seht—Milane und Geier, zu Tausenden versammelt.“ Die Zeile betont die düstere Gewissheit des Gemetzels auf dem Schlachtfeld: Noch ehe das Ergebnis ausgesprochen ist, kündigt die Gegenwart der Aasvögel die ethische Last des Krieges und den unvermeidlichen Tod an, der der Gewalt folgt.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a moral and psychological warning: war’s ‘victory’ is inseparable from mass death. The gathered carrion-birds symbolize the karmic and ethical cost of violence, reminding the listener that adharma in conflict culminates in destruction.
Sañjaya, narrating events of the Kurukṣetra war, points out the ominous sight of kites and vultures massing on the battlefield—an image that foreshadows heavy casualties and intensifies the dread and gravity of the moment.