Shloka 33
Adhyāya 92: Irāvanta-śoka, punaḥ-pravṛttiḥ saṅgrāmasya
Arjuna’s grief and the battle’s renewed intensity
पतड्धिस्तुरगै राजन् समास्तीर्यत मेदिनी,राजन! वहाँ गिरते हुए घोड़ोंकी लाशोंसे सारी पृथ्वी पट गयी। किन्हींकी जीभ निकल आयी थी, कोई लंबी साँस खींच रहे थे, कोई धीरे-धीरे अव्यक्त शब्द करते और कितनोंके प्राण निकल गये थे। नरश्रेष्ठट इस प्रकार विभिन्न रूपधारी घोड़ोंसे आच्छादित होनेके कारण इस पृथ्वीकी अद्भुत शोभा हो रही थी
sañjaya uvāca | patadbhis turagai rājan samāstīryata medinī |
Sañjaya said: O King, the earth seemed spread over with fallen horses. The battlefield ground lay covered with their bodies—some with tongues protruding, some drawing long, laboured breaths, some uttering faint, indistinct sounds, and many already bereft of life. Thus, O best of men, the earth assumed a strange and terrible splendour, being overlaid with horses of varied forms—an image that underscores the grievous cost of war and the moral weight borne by those who choose it.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse offers a stark ethical reminder: war, even when entered under claims of duty, inevitably produces widespread suffering and death. By dwelling on the dying and dead animals, the narration highlights the moral gravity of violence and the inescapable cost that accompanies adharma-driven conflict.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: the ground is covered with fallen horses, some still struggling for breath and some already dead, creating a dreadful, uncanny ‘splendour’ of the earth layered with bodies.