Shloka 5
रणभूमिवर्णनम् — Devāsuropama-yuddha and the ‘River’ Metaphor of the Battlefield
ततो बलानि सर्वाणि हतशिष्टानि भारत । प्रस्थितानि व्यदृश्यन्त मृत्युं कृत्वा निवर्तनम्,भारत! तत्पश्चात् मरनेसे बची हुई सारी सेनाएँ मृत्युको ही युद्धसे लौटनेका निमित्त बनाकर प्रस्थान करती दिखायी दीं
tato balāni sarvāṇi hataśiṣṭāni bhārata | prasthitāni vyadṛśyanta mṛtyuṁ kṛtvā nivartanam ||
Sañjaya sprach: Dann, o Bhārata, sah man alle verbliebenen Kräfte — die nach dem Gemetzel Übriggebliebenen — aufbrechen, als machten sie den Tod selbst zum Grund und zur Bedingung ihres Rückzugs. Nicht um der Sicherheit willen wichen sie zurück, sondern weil das Schlachtfeld zu einem Ort geworden war, an dem Heimkehr nur noch durch den Tod möglich war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral and existential collapse that follows mass violence: when dharma is eclipsed by relentless slaughter, even the act of retreat loses its ordinary meaning and becomes bound to death. It highlights the tragic cost of war and the inevitability that follows adharma-driven conflict.
Sañjaya reports to the listener addressed as 'Bhārata' that the surviving remnants of the armies, after heavy casualties, are seen moving away—yet their withdrawal is portrayed as conditioned by death itself, emphasizing that the battlefield has become so lethal that departure is inseparable from mortality.