Shloka 43
धरणीं विविशु: सर्वे वल्मीकमिव पन्नगा: । वे समस्त लोहमुख बाण आपके पुत्र दुःशासनको विदीर्ण करके उसी प्रकार धरतीमें समा गये, जैसे सर्प बाँबीमें प्रवेश करते हैं || ४२ हू ।। हयांश्लवास्य ततो जघ्ने सारथिं च न्यपातयत्,तत्पश्चात् शक्तिशाली अर्जुनने दुःशासनके घोड़ों तथा सारथिको भी मार गिराया और विविंशतिको भी बीस बाणोंसे मारकर उसे रथहीन कर दिया। इसके बाद पुनः झुकी हुई गाँठवाले पाँच बाणोंद्वारा उसे अत्यन्त घायल कर दिया
dharaṇīṃ viviśuḥ sarve valmīkam iva pannagāḥ | te samastā lohamukhā bāṇāḥ tava putraṃ duḥśāsanaṃ vidīrya tathā dharaṇyāṃ samāgatāḥ, yathā sarpā valmīke praviśanti ||
Sanjaya said: All those iron-pointed arrows, after tearing open your son Duḥśāsana, sank into the earth—just as serpents slip into an anthill. The image underscores the ruthless momentum of battle: weapons do their work and vanish, while the moral weight of violence remains with those who chose the path of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse does not preach directly; it conveys the ethical gravity of war through stark imagery. Weapons may disappear into the earth after striking, but the responsibility for choosing violence and sustaining adharma remains with the agents and leaders who drive the conflict.
Sañjaya describes a volley of iron-tipped arrows that pierce Duḥśāsana and then sink into the ground, compared to snakes entering an anthill—emphasizing the speed, inevitability, and lethal precision of the battlefield exchange.