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 |
Sañjaya dit : Ô Bhārata, là, sur le sol, s’abattaient des monceaux sur des monceaux : têtes tranchées, bras et cuisses ; grands anneaux d’oreilles et autres parures ; plaques d’or portées au cou (niṣka) ; corps de héros maniant l’arc ; et amas de boucliers et d’étendards. La scène met à nu le prix terrible de la guerre : vaillance et ornements y sont pareillement réduits à des restes inertes, avertissant que la violence dépouille l’homme de sa dignité et de toute splendeur du monde.
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.