Shloka 503
अस्त्रयुद्धे द्रौणिपार्थसंघर्षः — Karṇa’s Bhārgavāstra and the Search for Yudhiṣṭhira
Chapter 45
स्वप्स्यन्ति निहता: कर्ण शतशो5थ सहस््रश: । “कर्ण! जब ऐसे अपशकुन प्रकट हो रहे हैं तो निश्चय ही आज सैकड़ों और हजारों नरेश मारे जाकर रणभूमिमें शयन करेंगे
svapsyanti nihatāḥ karṇa śataśo ’tha sahasraśaḥ |
Sañjaya said: “O Karṇa, when such ominous portents are manifest, it is certain that today hundreds and even thousands of kings, struck down in battle, will lie asleep upon the field of war.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral gravity and inevitability of mass death in war: ominous signs are read as warnings that adharma-driven conflict culminates in widespread destruction, reminding listeners of the heavy karmic and ethical cost borne by rulers and warriors.
Sañjaya addresses Karṇa, interpreting the appearance of inauspicious omens as a sure indication that a catastrophic battle is imminent, in which many kings will be slain and will ‘sleep’—i.e., lie dead—on the battlefield.