Shloka 126
गौरुडव्यूह-रचना तथा अर्धचन्द्र-प्रत्यव्यूह
Garuḍa Array and the Ardhacandra Counter-Formation
शतश: पतिता भूमौ वीरशय्यासु शेरते । राजन! वे प्रचण्ड घोड़े उस रथको लिये-दिये यत्र-तत्र घूम रहे थे। कमरमें तलवार और पीठपर तरकस बाँधे हुए सैकड़ों आहत वीर मस्तक कट जानेके कारण पृथ्वीपर गिरकर वीरोचित शय्याओंपर शयन कर रहे थे
śataśaḥ patitā bhūmau vīraśayyāsu śerate | rājan, pracaṇḍāśvās taṃ rathaṃ nītvā-dattvā yatra-tatra bhramanti sma | kaṭyāṃ khaḍgaṃ pṛṣṭhe ca tūṇīraṃ baddhvā śataśo 'bhihatā vīrāḥ śiraśchedena pṛthivyāṃ nipatya vīrocityāsu śayyāsu śerate |
Sañjaya said: “O King, hundreds of warriors have fallen upon the earth and lie upon their heroes’ beds. Fierce horses, having carried their chariots to and fro, roam restlessly here and there. With swords at their waists and quivers bound upon their backs, countless wounded heroes—beheaded in the clash—have dropped to the ground and now lie upon the earth as upon a warrior’s couch.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grim cost of war while framing death in battle as the ‘vīraśayyā’—a culturally valorized end for kṣatriyas. It invites reflection on dharma and responsibility: heroic ideals do not erase suffering, and the narrator’s sober witness highlights the ethical weight of conflict.
Sanjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra the battlefield scene: many warriors lie dead or wounded on the ground, while powerful horses and chariots move about amid the chaos. The imagery focuses on the fallen—still bearing weapons and quivers—emphasizing the intensity and devastation of the fighting.