Shloka 19
Kuru-Sainika-Āśvāsana and Vijayaghoṣaṇa
Reassuring the Kuru Soldiers; Proclaiming Victory
मेदोवसासूृक्प्रवहां महा भयविवर्धिनीम् । रौद्ररूपां महाभीमां श्वापदैरभिनादिताम्
vaiśampāyana uvāca | medovasāsṛkpravahāṁ mahābhayavivardhinīm | raudrarūpāṁ mahābhīmāṁ śvāpadair abhināditām ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: Dort floss ein Strom aus Fett, Mark und Blut—ein Strom, der die Furcht gewaltig steigerte. Schrecklich anzusehen und überaus grauenvoll, hallten seine Ufer von den Schreien räuberischer Bestien wider. Das Bild unterstreicht den moralischen Schrecken der Gewalt: Wenn Krieg und Schlachten herrschen, wird selbst die Landschaft als gespenstisches Zeugnis von Adharma und Leid vorgestellt.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse evokes the ethical revulsion of mass violence by portraying nature itself as turned into a horrific river of bodily substances, suggesting that unchecked aggression and slaughter lead to fear, degradation, and a world that bears the marks of adharma.
Vaiśampāyana describes a terrifying scene: a river seemingly flowing with fat, marrow, and blood, while wild predators cry out along its banks—an image used to convey the dread and brutality surrounding the events being narrated.