Shloka 54
आसुरीव पुरा सेना शक्रस्येव पराक्रमै: । “भयंकर पराक्रमी पार्थ! रणभूमिमें विध्वंसको प्राप्त हुई यह कौरव-सेना पूर्वकालमें इन्द्रके पराक्रमसे नष्ट हुई असुरोंकी सेनाके समान प्रतीत होती है ।।
āsurīva purā senā śakrasy eva parākramaiḥ | bhayaṅkara-parākramī pārtha! raṇabhūmau vidhvaṁsaṁ prāptā iyaṁ kaurava-senā pūrvakāle indrasya parākramena naṣṭā asurāṇāṁ senā-sadṛśī pratibhāti | teṣāṁ hatāvaśiṣṭās tu santi pañca mahārathāḥ ||
Sañjaya sprach: „O Pārtha von furchterregender Kraft! Dieses Kaurava-Heer, das nun auf dem Schlachtfeld dem Untergang anheimfiel, gleicht dem Heer der Asuras, das in alter Zeit durch Indras Macht vernichtet wurde. Doch von ihnen sind noch fünf große Wagenkämpfer übrig, die mitten unter den Erschlagenen überlebt haben.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames battlefield collapse through a moral-cosmic analogy: overwhelming, righteous or divinely sanctioned prowess can shatter even a vast host, as Indra once destroyed the Asuras. It underscores the inevitability of consequences in war and the fragility of power when opposed by superior valor and destiny.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, addressing Arjuna as ‘Pārtha,’ that the Kaurava army has been devastated on the battlefield, resembling the ancient Asura host destroyed by Indra. Despite the slaughter, he notes that five great chariot-warriors still survive among the Kauravas.