Shloka 82
युधिष्ठिरस्य धनंजय-प्रति गर्हा
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Reproach to Dhanaṃjaya
नराश्वनागदेहेभ्य: प्रसृता लोहितापगा । गजाश्वनरदेहान् सा व्युवाह पतितान् बहून्
narāśvanāgadehebhyaḥ prasṛtā lohitāpagā | gajāśvanaradehān sā vyuvāha patitān bahūn |
Sañjaya said: From the bodies of men, horses, and elephants there flowed a river of blood. That crimson stream carried along, within its current, the many fallen bodies of elephants, horses, and men—so the battle continued in that dreadful form.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the catastrophic human and animal cost of war: even when framed as duty, violence produces overwhelming suffering, inviting reflection on the ethical burden and the impermanence of life and power.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield so saturated with slaughter that blood seems to form a river, which sweeps away the numerous fallen bodies of men, horses, and elephants—conveying the battle’s relentless, horrific intensity.