Shloka 6
मन्दासुभिश्वैव गतासुभिश्न नराश्ननागैश्न रथैश्व मर्दितै: । मन्दांशुभिश्चैव मही महाहवे नूनं यथा वैतरणीव भाति
mandāsubhiś caiva gatāsubhiś ca narāśvanāgaiś ca rathaiś ca marditaiḥ | mandāṃśubhiś caiva mahī mahāhave nūnaṃ yathā vaitaraṇīva bhāti ||
Śalya sprach: „O heldenhafter König, sieh—dieses Schlachtfeld, von Menschen, Pferden, Elefanten und Wagen zermahlen und umgepflügt, übersät mit denen, deren Atem nur noch schwach geht, und denen, deren Leben schon gewichen ist, erscheint wahrhaft schrecklich. In diesem großen Kampf ist der Glanz der Erde erloschen; nun gleicht sie der Vaitaraṇī selbst—einem Bild des Todes, das die furchtbare moralische Last des Krieges enthüllt.“
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical gravity of war: even when fought under kṣatriya norms, battle produces a landscape of suffering where the living and the dead lie together. By likening the field to the Vaitaraṇī, Śalya highlights how violence can make the world resemble a threshold of hell, urging sober reflection on the cost of conflict.
Śalya points out to the king the horrific state of the battlefield—men, horses, elephants, and chariots lie crushed; some are barely breathing while others are dead. The ground’s splendor is ‘dimmed’ by carnage, and the scene is compared to the Vaitaraṇī, emphasizing the battle’s dreadful intensity.