Shloka 41
अजिशीर्षे प्रातःसंध्यायां संग्रामवर्णनम् / Dawn-Transition Battle at Ajiśīrṣa
Chapter 161
बभूवायोधन रौद्रं वैवस्वतपुरोपमम् । कुछ लोग मारे गये थे, कुछ मारे जा रहे थे और कुछ लोग सब ओर पीड़ासे कराह रहे थे। इससे वह युद्धस्थल यमपुरीके समान भयंकर प्रतीत होता था ।। ततो दुर्योधनो राजा दृष्टवा कर्णस्य विक्रमम्
babhūvāyodhana raudraṃ vaivasvatapuropamam | tato duryodhano rājā dṛṣṭvā karṇasya vikramam ||
Sañjaya said: The battlefield became a scene of dreadful combat, resembling the city of Vaivasvata (Yama). Some had already been slain, some were being slain, and others, writhing in pain, cried out on every side—so terrifying did that field of war appear, like Yama’s own realm. Then King Duryodhana, seeing Karṇa’s prowess…
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical gravity of war: heroic prowess and royal ambition unfold amid mass suffering, making the battlefield resemble Yama’s realm. It implicitly contrasts martial glory with the human cost—death, pain, and the inevitability of mortality.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield as terrifying like Yamapurī because many are dead, dying, or crying in agony. The scene sets the tone for the next action: Duryodhana observes Karṇa’s prowess and responds accordingly (the sentence continues into the next verse).