Shloka 53
छन्नमायोधनं राजन् कुण्डलाड्रदधारिभि: । पतितै: पात्यमानैश्व राजपुत्रैर्महारथै:,राजन! वहाँ गिरे और गिराये जाते हुए कुण्डल और अंगदधारी महारथी राजकुमारोंके मृत शरीरोंसे सारी युद्धभूमि आच्छादित हो रही थी
channam āyodhanaṃ rājan kuṇḍalāṅgadadhāribhiḥ | patitaiḥ pātyamānaiś ca rājaputraiḥ mahārathaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: O King, the battlefield was being covered over by the fallen bodies of princely great chariot-warriors—men adorned with earrings and armlets—some already struck down, others still being hurled to the ground. The scene underscores how royal status and martial splendor offer no refuge from the impartial devastation of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical gravity and human cost of war: even the most illustrious princes and elite warriors, marked by ornaments and status, are reduced to lifeless bodies. It implicitly warns against attachment to power and splendor, emphasizing the impartiality of death and the karmic weight of violence.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the battlefield is becoming blanketed with the bodies of princely mahārathas—some already fallen, others in the act of being struck down—depicting the escalating carnage and the collapse of royal armies.