Shloka 50
प्रावर्तयत संग्रामे शोणितोदां महानदीम् । मध्येन कुरुसैन्यानां पाण्डवानां च भारत
sañjaya uvāca |
prāvartayat saṅgrāme śoṇitodāṃ mahānadīm |
madhyena kuru-sainyānāṃ pāṇḍavānāṃ ca bhārata ||
Sañjaya dijo: En medio de la batalla, Arjuna puso en movimiento un río poderoso cuyas aguas eran sangre, que corría entre los ejércitos de los Kurus y los Pāṇḍavas, oh Bhārata. La imagen subraya el terrible costo moral de la guerra: aun cuando se combate por una causa justa, el campo queda empapado de sufrimiento, y la proeza heroica se vuelve inseparable de la tragedia que engendra.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a stark metaphor—battle as a river of blood—to highlight the grave ethical weight of warfare. Even when undertaken as kṣatriya duty, violence produces immense suffering, demanding sobriety, responsibility, and discernment about dharma.
Sañjaya describes the intensity of the fighting: amid the Kuru and Pāṇḍava forces, the warrior’s arrow-storm drives opponents back and the slaughter is so great that it is pictured as a vast river of blood flowing between the two armies.