Shloka 74
Duryodhana’s Śaraṇāgati and the Pāṇḍavas’ Resolve
Gandharva Encounter
शराश्ष दैत्यकायेषु पिबन्ति रुधिरं बहु । उन्होंने संग्राममें कुपित होकर दैत्योंकी सेनाओंके ऊपर जो अस्त्र-शस्त्र और बाण चलाये, वे उनके शरीरोंमें घुसकर प्रचुर मात्रामें रक्त पीने लगे || ७३ $ ।। तेषां देहान् विनिर्भिद्य शरास्ते निशितास्तदा
śarāś ca daityakāyeṣu pibanti rudhiraṃ bahu | teṣāṃ dehān vinirbhidya śarās te niśitās tadā ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “And the arrows, entering the bodies of the Dānavas, drank deep of their blood. Those keen, sharpened shafts then pierced through their limbs, as the battle raged in wrath.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses vivid poetic imagery—arrows ‘drinking’ blood—to underscore the grim reality of wrath-driven warfare: once violence is unleashed, it consumes life indiscriminately and leaves bodies broken. It implicitly cautions against krodha (anger) as a force that magnifies destruction.
Mārkaṇḍeya describes a fierce battle in which sharpened arrows strike the Daityas, pierce their bodies, and cause heavy bleeding—portraying the intensity of the combat and the devastating effect of the weapons.