Shloka 813
Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)
विविधै: शोणितस्रावै: प्रशान्तं पुरुषर्षभ । पुरुषप्रवर! तदनन्तर दो ही घड़ीमें उन सबने देखा कि धरतीकी जो धूल ऊपर उड़ रही थी, वह नाना प्रकारके रक्तका स्रोत बहनेसे शान्त हो गयी है
vividhaiḥ śoṇitasrāvaiḥ praśāntaṃ puruṣarṣabha | puruṣapravara! tad-anantaraṃ dvi ghāḍī-madhye te sarve dadṛśuḥ yat pṛthivyā upari uḍḍīyamānā dhūliḥ nānā-vidha-rakta-srotobhiḥ pravāhamānaiḥ praśāntābhavat |
Sanjaya said: “O bull among men, foremost of persons! Soon after that—within the space of two ghaṭīs—they all saw that the dust rising above the earth had been stilled, as many streams of blood flowed in diverse ways.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical and human cost of war: the battlefield’s dust—symbol of movement and martial fervor—is ‘quieted’ only by bloodshed, reminding the listener that violence culminates in suffering and irreversible loss rather than true victory.
Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that shortly after the clash, the dust cloud over the battlefield subsides because numerous streams of blood are flowing—an image indicating intense slaughter and the grim settling of the scene.