Shloka 4
नराश्वमातड़रथै: समाकुलं शरासिशव्त्यृष्टिनिपातदुः:सहम् । अभीरुजुष्ट हतदेहसंकुलं रणाजिरं लोहितमाबभौ तदा,उस समय हाथी, अश्व, रथ और पैदल सैनिकोंसे भरा हुआ बाण, खड़्ग, शक्ति और ऋष्टि आदि अस्त्र-शस्त्रोंके प्रहारसे दुःसह प्रतीत होनेवाला एवं मृतकोंके शरीरोंसे व्याप्त हुआ वह वीरसेवित समरांगण खूनसे लाल दिखायी देने लगा
sañjaya uvāca |
narāśva-mātaṅga-rathaiḥ samākulaṃ śarāsi-śakti-ṛṣṭi-nipāta-duḥsaham |
abhīru-juṣṭaṃ hata-deha-saṅkulaṃ raṇājiraṃ lohitam ābabhau tadā ||
Sañjaya said: Then the battlefield—choked with foot-soldiers, horses, elephants, and chariots—became almost unbearable under the crashing blows of arrows and weapons such as swords, spears, and lances. Crowded with the bodies of the slain and frequented by the fearless, that arena of war appeared red with blood.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the human cost of war: when courage is severed from restraint and dharma, the battlefield becomes a place of unbearable suffering, marked by bloodshed and the bodies of the slain—an implicit ethical warning about violence and its consequences.
Sañjaya gives a vivid report of the combat scene: the field is packed with infantry, horses, elephants, and chariots; weapons rain down; corpses accumulate; and the ground appears red with blood as fearless warriors continue to press the fight.