Shloka 9
भीमसेनस्य कौरवसुतवधः तथा श्रुतर्वावधः
Slaying of Kaurava princes and the fall of Śrutarvā
निःश्वसन्ति सम दृश्यन्ते पार्थबाणहता नरा: । तानन्ये रथमारोप्य ह्वाश्वास्य च मुहूर्तकम्
niḥśvasanti sama dṛśyante pārthabāṇahatā narāḥ | tān anye ratham āropya hvāśvāsyā ca muhūrtakam
Sañjaya said: “The men struck down by Arjuna’s arrows were seen lying there, breathing hard and faintly. Others lifted those wounded warriors onto chariots and, after giving them water and a brief moment to recover, tried to revive them for a short while—an image of war’s relentless churn, where compassion appears only in hurried intervals amid continuing violence.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the human cost of battle: even amid kṣatriya warfare, the sight of wounded men gasping for breath evokes the ethical tension between duty in war and the impulse to relieve suffering—yet such care is fleeting, constrained by the ongoing violence.
Sañjaya reports that warriors struck by Arjuna’s arrows are seen lying and gasping; their companions lift them onto chariots and briefly revive or console them, giving them a momentary respite before the battle’s pressure resumes.