Shloka 17
Chapter 23: Śakuni Reports, Kaurava Advance, and Arjuna’s Penetration of the Host
वर्तमाने तदा युद्धे निर्म्यादे समनन््ततः । वध्यमानेषु योधेषु तावकेष्वितरेषु च
vartamāne tadā yuddhe nirmaryāde samanantataḥ | vadhyamāneṣu yodheṣu tāvakeṣv itareṣu ca ||
Sañjaya sprach: Als die Schlacht damals überall ohne jedes Maß tobte, wurden Krieger niedergemacht – die Deinen ebenso wie die des gegnerischen Heeres.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war can cross the boundary of maryādā (ethical restraint), turning into indiscriminate slaughter on both sides—an implicit warning about the moral collapse that accompanies unchecked violence.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the battle has become nirmaryāda—without limits—where fighters from both the Kaurava and Pāṇḍava sides are being slain everywhere.