Shloka 53
Droṇa’s Renewed Advance toward Yudhiṣṭhira; Fall of Satyajit and Allied Recoil (द्रोणस्य युधिष्ठिरप्रेप्सा—सत्यजितः पतनम्)
कितने हीं हाथी नाराचोंसे घायल हो क्रौंच पक्षीकी भाँति चिग्घाड़ रहे थे और अपने तथा शत्रुपक्षके सैनिकोंको भी रौंदते हुए दसों दिशाओंमें भाग रहे थे ।। गजाश्चरथयोधानां शरीरौघसमावृता । बभूव पृथिवी राजन् मांसशोणितकर्दमा,राजन! हाथी, घोड़े तथा रथ-योद्धाओंकी लाशोंसे ढकी हुई वहाँकी भूमिपर रक्त और मांसकी कीच जम गयी थी
gajāś ca rathayodhānāṃ śarīraughāsamāvṛtā | babhūva pṛthivī rājan māṃsaśoṇitakardamā ||
Sañjaya said: O King, many elephants, wounded by nārāca arrows, cried like krauñca birds and fled in all ten directions, trampling both their own and the enemy. And the earth there, covered with heaps of bodies—elephants, horses, and chariot-warriors—became a mire of flesh and blood.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical cost of war: when conflict escalates, the battlefield becomes a common grave where distinctions of side, status, and pride collapse into shared suffering—prompting reflection on restraint and dharma.
Sañjaya reports to the king that the ground of battle is covered by heaps of fallen—especially elephants and chariot-fighters—and has become a mire of flesh and blood, conveying the scale and horror of the fighting.