Shloka 106
चेष्टन्तो विविधाश्रैष्टा व्यदृश्यन्त महाहवे । कुरुश्रेष्ठ! बाणोंके आघातसे कटे हुए योद्धा उस महासमरमें अनेक प्रकारकी चेष्टाएँ करते और छटपटाते दिखायी देते थे
ceṣṭanto vividhāḥ śreṣṭhā vyadṛśyanta mahāhave | kuruśreṣṭha bāṇānām āghātāt kaṭitā yoddhāḥ tasmin mahāsamare nānāvidhāś ceṣṭāḥ kurvantaḥ chaṭpaṭāyanta iva vyadṛśyanta |
Sañjaya said: “O best of the Kurus, in that great battle the foremost warriors—cut down by the impact of arrows—were seen making many kinds of involuntary movements, writhing and struggling in agony. The scene laid bare the brutal cost of war, where even the mighty are reduced to helpless suffering.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the harsh reality and moral weight of war: even the ‘best’ warriors become helpless under violence. It implicitly warns that glory in battle is inseparable from suffering and loss, inviting reflection on responsibility and the consequences of conflict.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, amid the great fighting, warriors struck and cut by arrows were visibly writhing and making varied, involuntary movements on the battlefield—an eyewitness-style depiction of the carnage.