Shloka 4
प्रभग्नं वायुवेगेन महाशालं यथा वने । भूमौ विचेष्टमानं तं रुधिरेण समुक्षितम्
sañjaya uvāca | prabhagnaṁ vāyuvegena mahāśālaṁ yathā vane | bhūmau viceṣṭamānaṁ taṁ rudhireṇa samukṣitam ||
Sañjaya said: Like a mighty śāla tree in a forest shattered by the force of the wind, he saw him—Duryodhana—lying on the ground, smeared all over with blood, writhing in pain. The image underscores the war’s grim moral aftermath: even the proud and powerful, once brought down by their own choices and the relentless logic of violence, are reduced to helpless suffering on the earth.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical cost of war and the fragility of worldly power: pride and might can collapse suddenly, and violence culminates in suffering. The simile of a great tree felled by wind suggests that even the seemingly unshakable are subject to forces set in motion by their own actions and the larger moral order.
Sañjaya reports what is seen on the battlefield: Duryodhana, Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son, has been struck down and lies on the ground, bloodied and writhing. The description uses a vivid forest image—a huge śāla tree broken by wind—to convey the magnitude of his fall.