Shloka 20
हता उदीच्या निहता: प्रतीच्या नष्टा: प्राच्या दाक्षिणात्या विशस्ता: | कृतं कर्माप्रतिरूपं महद्वि- स्तेषां योधैरस्मदीयैश्न युद्धे,उत्तर दिशाके वीर मारे गये, पश्चिमके योद्धाओंका संहार हो गया, पूर्वदेशके क्षत्रिय नष्ट हो गये और दक्षिणदेशीय योद्धा काट डाले गये। शत्रुओंके और हमारे पक्षके बड़े-बड़े योद्धाओंने युद्धमें ऐसा पराक्रम किया है, जिसकी कहीं तुलना नहीं है
hatā udīcyā nihatāḥ pratīcyā naṣṭāḥ prācyā dākṣiṇātyā viśastāḥ | kṛtaṃ karmāpratirūpaṃ mahad viṣṭeṣāṃ yodhair asmadīyaiś ca yuddhe ||
Arjuna said: “The heroes of the northern quarter have been slain; the warriors of the west have been struck down; the kṣatriyas of the east have perished; and the fighters of the south have been cut to pieces. In this battle, both the enemy’s champions and our own great warriors have performed a mighty deed of valor—one without any equal.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the vast, indiscriminate devastation of war across all quarters and acknowledges extraordinary martial prowess on both sides, implicitly raising the ethical weight of kṣatriya action: even ‘incomparable’ heroism is inseparable from immense loss.
Arjuna is describing the battlefield outcome: warriors from every direction—north, west, east, and south—have been slain. He remarks that both the enemy’s and the Pandavas’ great fighters have displayed unmatched valor in the ongoing conflict.