Shloka 36
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 114 — Karṇa–Bhīmasena Missile Exchange, Disarmament, and Arjuna’s Intervention
कर्कशै: प्रवरै्योधै: कार्ष्णायसतनुच्छदै: । सन्ति गोयोनयश्नात्र सन्ति वानरयोनय:
karkaśaiḥ pravaraiḥ yodhaiḥ kārṣṇāyasa-tanucchadaiḥ | santi goyonayaś cātra santi vānarayonayaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “Here are fierce and excellent warriors, clad in black-iron armour; and here too are those of bovine birth, and here too are those of simian birth.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily functions as descriptive narration rather than direct moral instruction; it underscores the bewildering, mixed, and often uncanny spectacle of war—where the field appears filled with fierce, well-armed fighters and even beings described by unusual births—suggesting a world-order shaken by conflict and ominous signs.
Sañjaya is reporting to Dhṛtarāṣṭra what is seen on the battlefield: formidable warriors in iron armour, alongside figures described as ‘bovine-born’ and ‘simian-born,’ indicating either extraordinary combatants, symbolic/portent-like appearances, or a vivid catalogue of strange sights amid the turmoil.