Shloka 50
प्रावर्तयत संग्रामे शोणितोदां महानदीम् । मध्येन कुरुसैन्यानां पाण्डवानां च भारत
sañjaya uvāca |
prāvartayat saṅgrāme śoṇitodāṃ mahānadīm |
madhyena kuru-sainyānāṃ pāṇḍavānāṃ ca bhārata ||
Sañjaya dit : Au cœur du combat, Arjuna mit en branle un fleuve immense dont les eaux étaient du sang, coulant entre les armées des Kurus et des Pāṇḍavas, ô Bhārata. Cette image souligne l’effroyable prix moral de la guerre : même menée pour une fin juste, la plaine est détrempée de souffrance, et la vaillance héroïque devient inséparable de la tragédie qu’elle suscite.
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.