Shloka 28
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ९६: सौभद्रस्य आक्रमणम्, अलम्बुसस्य प्रतिविधानम्
Abhimanyu’s assault; Alambusa’s counter-engagement
नराणां चैव कायेभ्य: शिरसां पततां रणे | शुश्रुवे सुमहाउ्छब्द: पततामश्मनामिव,मनुष्योंके शरीरोंसे रणभूमिमें कटकर गिरते हुए मस्तकोंका महान् शब्द पत्थरोंकी वर्षके समान जान पड़ता था
narāṇāṃ caiva kāyebhyaḥ śirasāṃ patatāṃ raṇe | śuśruve sumahāñ chabdaḥ patatām aśmanām iva ||
Sañjaya said: As men’s heads, severed from their bodies, fell upon the battlefield, there arose a tremendous sound—like the crash of stones raining down. The narration underscores the brutal cost of war, where the pursuit of victory is inseparable from widespread suffering and the moral weight of violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse does not preach directly; it conveys the ethical gravity of war through stark imagery. By likening the sound of severed heads striking the ground to falling stones, it forces the listener to confront the human cost that accompanies martial duty and political ambition.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene: in the midst of combat, heads cut from bodies are falling, and the impact produces a loud, continuous roar, compared to a shower of stones.