Shloka 246
भीमसेनस्य बहुमहारथसंयुगः
Bhīmasena’s Engagement with Multiple Mahārathas
चापैश्वन बहुधा च्छिन्नैः समास्तीर्यत मेदिनी । माननीय प्रजानाथ! वरूथोंसहित टूटे हुए रथ, मारे गये रथी, कटे हुए बाण, कवच, पट्टिश, गदा, भिन्दिपाल, तीखे सायक, छित्न-भिन्न हुए अनुकर्ष, उपासंग, पहिये, कटी हुई बाँह, धनुष, खड़्ग, कुण्डलोंसहित मस्तक, तलत्राण, अंगुलित्राण, गिराये गये ध्वज और अनेक टुकड़ोंमें कटकर गिरे हुए चाप--इन सबके द्वारा वहाँकी पृथ्वी आच्छादित हो गयी थी
cāpaiś ca bahudhā chinnaiḥ samāstīryata medinī |
Sañjaya said: The earth was spread over and covered everywhere with bows—many of them shattered into pieces—so that the battlefield itself seemed carpeted with the broken instruments of war, bearing witness to the relentless destruction wrought by the combatants.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the stark cost of war: weapons meant for prowess end as debris, and the earth itself becomes a record of violence. It implicitly cautions against pride in martial strength and highlights the transience of power when dharma collapses into slaughter.
Sañjaya is describing the battlefield scene: the ground is so thickly strewn with broken bows that it appears covered or carpeted by them, emphasizing the intensity of the fighting and the scale of destruction.