Shloka 2
अध्याय ४ — दुर्योधनस्य असंधि-निश्चयः
Duryodhana’s Refusal of Reconciliation
आयोधन चातिघोरें रुद्रस्याक्रीड संनिभम् । अप्रख्यातिं गतानां तु राज्ञां शतसहस्रश:
sañjaya uvāca |
āyodhanaṃ cātighore rudrasyākrīḍa-sannibham |
aprakhyātiṃ gatānāṃ tu rājñāṃ śata-sahasraśaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, that battlefield had become exceedingly dreadful, like a playground of Rudra (Śiva) in his fierce aspect. There, in their hundreds of thousands, kings were reduced to obscurity—their fame and very trace erased amid the ruin of war.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the impermanence of worldly power and fame: even mighty kings can be erased into obscurity by the destructive force of war, which is likened to Rudra’s terrifying arena.
Sañjaya describes to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the horrific state of the battlefield, emphasizing its dreadfulness and the massive, anonymous loss of kings, setting a grim tone for the events unfolding in the Śalya Parva.