Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 49
Chapter 23: Śakuni Reports, Kaurava Advance, and Arjuna’s Penetration of the Host
सैकड़ों और हजारों घोड़े अपने घायल सवारोंके साथ सारे अंगोंमें लहूलुहान होकर धरतीपर गिर रहे थे ।।
anyonyaṁ paripiṣṭāś ca samāsādya parasparam | āvikṣatāḥ sama dṛśyante vamanto rudhiraṁ mukhaiḥ ||
Sañjaya reports the battlefield’s crushing press: many warriors, colliding and closing upon one another, were ground down in the mêlée. Mangled and torn, they were seen vomiting blood from their mouths—an image that shows how, when rage and confusion overrun restraint, war reduces human bodies and intentions alike to ruin.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a moral-psychological warning embedded in narrative: when combat becomes a blind crush of bodies and hatred, discernment (viveka) and restraint collapse, and the human cost becomes indiscriminate. It highlights the ethical gravity of war—how quickly it turns from ‘duty’ into sheer devastation.
Sanjaya describes a chaotic close-quarters clash in which soldiers collide and are crushed together. Many are grievously wounded and are seen vomiting blood, conveying the intensity and horror of the fighting in the Shalya Parva battle sequence.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.