Shloka 12
कृष्णेन अर्जुनस्य प्रोत्साहनम् — Kṛṣṇa’s Exhortation to Arjuna
Prelude to Karṇa’s Slaying
निष्काणामथ शूराणां शरीराणां च धन्विनाम् | चर्मणां सपताकानां संघास्तत्रापतन् भुवि
niṣkāṇām atha śūrāṇāṁ śarīrāṇāṁ ca dhanvinām | carmaṇāṁ sapatākānāṁ saṅghās tatrāpatann bhuvi, bhārata |
Dijo Sañjaya: Oh Bhārata, allí en el suelo caían montones sobre montones: cabezas cercenadas, brazos y muslos; grandes pendientes y otros adornos; placas de oro al cuello (niṣkas); los cuerpos de héroes que empuñaban el arco; y pilas de escudos y estandartes. La escena deja al descubierto el terrible costo de la guerra: tanto el valor como el adorno quedan reducidos a restos inertes, advirtiendo cómo la violencia despoja de dignidad y de todo esplendor mundano.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grim reality and moral weight of war: even heroic bodies and symbols of honor (ornaments, banners) become mere debris. It implicitly cautions against attachment to worldly splendor and highlights the human cost that accompanies kṣatriya warfare.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra what he ‘sees’ on the battlefield: heaps of severed limbs and heads, fallen ornaments, and the bodies of archers, along with piles of shields and banners scattered on the earth after intense fighting.