Shloka 22
अस्माकं च महाराज परेभ्यो बहवो जना: । योद्धव्यमिति तिष्ठन्तो निद्रासंरक्तलोचना:,महाराज! हमारे पक्षके भी बहुत-से सैनिक शत्रुओंके साथ युद्ध करना है, ऐसा समझकर खड़े थे, परंतु नींदसे उनकी आँखें लाल हो गयी थीं
asmākaṃ ca mahārāja parebhyo bahavo janāḥ | yoddhavyam iti tiṣṭhanto nidrā-saṃrakta-locanāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, many of our men too stood ready, convinced that they must fight the enemy; yet their eyes had turned red from lack of sleep.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between perceived duty to fight and the human limits of the body: even when soldiers stand resolved to do what they think must be done, exhaustion shows itself. It implicitly underscores the ethical cost of prolonged war—resolve persists, but vitality and clarity are eroded.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that many on the Kaurava side remained standing in readiness to fight the enemy, but they were visibly worn out—so sleepless that their eyes were bloodshot.