Shloka 3
अथवा शून्यमासीत् तत् येन यातः स सात्यकि: । हतभूयिष्ठमथवा येन यातः स सात्यकि:,अथवा जिस मार्गसे सात्यकि आगे बढ़े थे, वह वीरोंसे शून्य तो नहीं हो गया था या वहाँके अधिकांश सैनिक मारे तो नहीं गये थे
athavā śūnyam āsīt tat yena yātaḥ sa sātyakiḥ | hatabhūyiṣṭham athavā yena yātaḥ sa sātyakiḥ ||
Ghṛtayaṭra said: “Or was that route by which Sātyaki advanced now left empty of warriors? Or, along the path he took, have most of the soldiers been slain?”
घतयाट्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid necessary warfare, the speaker’s concern highlights ethical awareness of collateral loss—measuring victory not only by movement or success, but by the human cost left in one’s wake.
Ghṛtayaṭra wonders about the condition of the battlefield corridor through which Sātyaki advanced—whether it has become deserted because fighters fled, or because most were killed during his passage.