Shloka 11
प्रणष्टसंज्जै: पुनरुच्छवसद्धि- मही बभूवानुगतैरिवाग्निभि: । कर्णार्जुनाभ्यां शरभिन्नगात्रै- ते: प्रवीरै: कुरुसूज्जयानाम्,कर्ण और अर्जुनके बाणोंसे जिनके अंग-अंग छिलन्न-भिन्न हो गये हैं, उन मारे गये कौरव-सूंजय वीरोंकी लाशोंसे भरी हुई भूमि यज्ञमें स्थापित हुई अग्नियोंके द्वारा यज्ञभूमिके समान सुशोभित होती है। उनमेंसे कितने ही वीरोंकी चेतना लुप्त हो गयी है और कितने ही पुनः साँस ले रहे हैं
praṇaṣṭasaṃjñaiḥ punarucchvasadbhiḥ mahī babhūvānugatair ivāgnibhiḥ | karṇārjunābhyāṃ śarabhinnagātraiḥ taiḥ pravīraiḥ kurusṛñjayānām ||
Śalya said: The earth, strewn with heroes of the Kurus and the Sṛñjayas whose limbs had been torn and shattered by the arrows of Karṇa and Arjuna—some lying senseless, others still drawing breath—appeared as though attended by sacrificial fires, like a consecrated altar-ground. Thus the battlefield mimicked a yajña, yet its “offerings” were human lives.
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses yajña imagery to highlight the moral tension of war: even when fought under kṣatriya-dharma, victory is shadowed by the suffering of countless warriors. Sacred metaphors (altar and fires) intensify the ethical reflection on how violence can resemble ‘sacrifice’ yet remains tragically human in its cost.
Śalya describes the battlefield after intense fighting between Karṇa and Arjuna. The ground is covered with Kuru and Sṛñjaya heroes whose bodies are pierced and torn by arrows; some are unconscious, some still breathing. The scene looks like a sacrificial ground lit by fires, emphasizing the scale and horror of the carnage.