Shloka 127
Vāsudeva-Māhātmya: Duryodhana’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Theological Account of Keśava
श्वरकड़्कशालावृकगृध्रकाकै: क्रव्यादसड्घैश्न तरक्षुभिश्न । उपेतकूलां ददृशुर्मनुष्या: क्रूरां महावैतरणीप्रकाशाम्
sañjaya uvāca | śvarakaṅkaśālāvṛkagṛdhrakākaiḥ kravyādasaṅghaiś ca tarakṣubhiś ca | upetakūlāṃ dadṛśur manuṣyāḥ krūrāṃ mahāvaitaraṇīprakāśām ||
Sañjaya dit : Les hommes virent un fleuve cruel, dont les rives étaient noires de bêtes dévoreuses de chair—chiens, corbeaux, loups, vautours, kankas et hyènes—semblable au grand Vaitaraṇī. La vision fait surgir l’horreur morale de la guerre : un paysage où la violence attire les charognards et où la frontière entre champ de bataille et enfer devient indistincte.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses hell-river imagery (Vaitaraṇī) to underline the ethical degradation and karmic dread associated with mass violence: when adharma and slaughter dominate, the world itself seems to resemble a realm of punishment, crowded by scavengers drawn to death.
Sañjaya reports a terrifying sight: a river whose banks are lined with carrion-eating animals and birds—dogs, crows, wolves, vultures, kankas, hyenas—so dreadful that it appears like the great Vaitaraṇī, an infernal river in traditional imagination.