Shloka 17
Nakula’s Engagement with Citra-sena and Karṇa’s Sons; Śalya Re-stabilizes the Kaurava Host
बहवो बाहवश्कछिन्ना नागराजकरोपमा: । उद्वेष्टन्ते विचेष्टन्ते वेगं कुर्वन्ति दारुणम्
bahavo bāhavaś chinnā nāgarāja-karopamāḥ | udveṣṭante viceṣṭante vegaṃ kurvanti dāruṇam ||
Sañjaya sprach: Viele abgehauene Arme — wie die mächtigen Stämme des Schlangenkönigs — wanden und zuckten, noch immer mit schrecklichem Drang vorwärtsstoßend.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim ethical reality of war: violence leaves behind not only death but also horrifying aftereffects—convulsive remnants of action—forcing the listener to confront the true cost of conflict beyond heroic rhetoric.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield aftermath: many warriors’ arms have been cut off, and these severed limbs are depicted as still writhing and twitching, likened to the powerful coils/limbs of a Nāga-king, conveying the ferocity of the fighting.