Shloka 31
भीष्मवधाय प्रयाणम् — The Advance toward Bhīṣma and Counter-Engagements
उत्तस्थु: समरे तत्र कबन्धानि समन्तत: । कुरूणां चैव सैन्येषु पाण्डवानां च भारत,भारत! वहाँ समरमें कौरवों और पाण्डवोंकी सेनाओंमें चारों ओर कबन्ध उठने लगे
uttasthuḥ samare tatra kabandhāni samantataḥ | kurūṇāṃ caiva sainyeṣu pāṇḍavānāṃ ca bhārata ||
Sañjaya said: “There, in the midst of that battle, headless trunks began to rise up on every side—among the armies of the Kurus and among those of the Pāṇḍavas, O Bhārata.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the impartial destructiveness of war: death does not discriminate between sides. It implicitly warns that when dharma collapses into armed conflict, the outcome is widespread suffering that engulfs all participants.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield where, amid intense fighting, decapitated bodies (kabandhas) are seen rising or moving about on all sides among both the Kuru and Pāṇḍava armies, emphasizing the horror and chaos of the combat.