Shloka 706
युधिष्ठिरस्य धनंजय-प्रति गर्हा
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Reproach to Dhanaṃjaya
व्यड्राड्रावयवाः पेतुः क्षितौ क्षीणा: क्षितीश्वरा: । कितने ही घायल नरेश पताका, ध्वज, छत्र, अश्व, सारथि, आयुध, शरीर तथा उसके अवयवोंसे रहित हो रणभूमिमें गिर पड़े
vyaḍrāḍrāvayavāḥ petuḥ kṣitau kṣīṇāḥ kṣitīśvarāḥ |
Sañjaya said: Exhausted and grievously wounded, many lordly kings fell upon the earth, their bodies and limbs mangled—stripped of banners, standards, royal parasols, horses, charioteers, and weapons, the very emblems of sovereignty and protection. Thus the battlefield displayed the harsh moral cost of war: power and royal insignia proved fragile before the consequences of violence and fate.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the impermanence of worldly power: even kings, symbols of authority, and the protections of rank collapse in war. It implicitly warns that violence consumes status and body alike, revealing the ethical weight and human cost of conflict.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that many kings, worn out and badly wounded, are falling on the battlefield. The scene emphasizes the scale of destruction and the stripping away of royal dignity amid combat.