Shloka 41
अध्याय १ — न्यग्रोधवनोपवेशनम् तथा द्रौणिनिश्चयः
Night at the Banyan and Drauṇi’s Resolve
केषांचिदच्छिनत् पक्षान् शिरांसि च चकर्त ह । चरणांश्वैव केषांचिद्ू बभज्ज चरणायुध:,उसने अपने पंजोंसे ही अस्त्रका काम लेकर किन््हीं कौओंके पंख नोच डाले, किन्हींके सिर काट लिये और किन्हींके पैर तोड़ डाले
keṣāñcid acchinat pakṣān śirāṃsi ca cakarta ha | caraṇāṃś caiva keṣāñcid babhajja caraṇāyudhaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Using his very feet as weapons, he tore off the wings of some, severed the heads of others, and broke the legs of still others. The scene underscores how, in the wake of war, violence spills into indiscriminate cruelty—power turning even natural limbs into instruments of harm.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral degradation that follows unchecked violence: when aggression becomes habitual, even ordinary means (like one’s feet) are turned into weapons, leading to indiscriminate harm—an implicit warning against adharma and cruelty.
Sañjaya describes a violent act in which the attacker mutilates victims—tearing wings, cutting off heads, and breaking legs—using his feet as weapons, conveying the brutality and chaos characteristic of the Sauptika episode.