Shloka 1153
अर्जुनस्य शीघ्रप्रयाणं भीम-शकुनियुद्धं च
Arjuna’s Rapid Advance and the Bhīma–Śakuni Encounter
शोणिताक्तैस्तदा रक्त सर्वमासीद् विशाम्पते । प्रजानाथ! एक-एक बाणसे मारे गये रक्तरंजित काबुली घोड़ों, यवनों और शकोंके खूनसे वह सारा युद्धस्थल लाल हो गया था
sañjaya uvāca | śoṇitāktaiḥ tadā raktaṃ sarvam āsīd viśāmpate | prajānātha! eka-eka-bāṇena māre gatāḥ rakta-rañjitāḥ kābulī-ghoḍāḥ yavanāḥ ca śakāḥ ca | teṣāṃ khunena tat sarvaṃ yuddhasthalaṃ lohitaṃ babhūva |
Sanjaya said: “O lord of the people, O ruler of men, everything there turned red, smeared with blood. With single arrows warriors were struck down one by one; the Kabul horses, and the Yavanas and the Shakas, lay blood-stained. By their blood the whole battlefield became crimson.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim ethical reality of war: even when fought under kṣatriya duty, the battlefield becomes a place of immense suffering. It invites reflection on the cost of violence and the responsibility of rulers toward their subjects.
Sanjaya describes to Dhṛtarāṣṭra how the battlefield has turned completely red with blood. Fighters are being slain one by one by arrows, and foreign contingents—Yavanas and Śakas—along with their Kabul horses, lie blood-stained across the field.