Shloka 256
कृष्णेन अर्जुनस्य प्रोत्साहनम् — Kṛṣṇa’s Exhortation to Arjuna
Prelude to Karṇa’s Slaying
निपतन्ति तथैवान्ये स्फुरन्ति च सहस्रश: । महाराज! मनुष्योंकी कटी हुई सहस्रों सुवर्णभूषित भुजाएँ कभी टेढ़ी होकर किसी शरीरसे लिपट जातीं, कभी छटपटातीं, गिरती, ऊपरको उछलतीं, नीचे आ जातीं और तड़पने लगती थीं
nipatanti tathaivānye sphuranti ca sahasraśaḥ | mahārāja! manuṣyāṇāṃ kaṭitāḥ sahasraśaḥ suvarṇabhūṣitā bhujāḥ kadācid vakrībhūya kenacid dehena lipyante, kadācic ca sphuranti, nipatanti, ūrdhvaṃ plavante, adhaḥ punar āyānti, vyathante ca |
Sañjaya dit : «D’autres tombaient de même, et d’innombrables membres tressaillaient. Ô grand roi ! Des milliers de bras humains tranchés, parés d’ornements d’or, se courbaient parfois, de travers, comme s’ils s’agrippaient à quelque corps ; parfois ils frémissaient, tombaient, bondissaient, retombaient et se tordaient dans l’agonie.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the brutal cost of war and the fragility of embodied life: even strength and wealth (arms adorned with gold) become meaningless when life is cut down. It implicitly warns that adharma-driven conflict yields pervasive suffering, reminding the listener (the king) of moral responsibility and the karmic consequences of choices that sustain war.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the horrific दृश्य of the battlefield: countless severed, ornamented arms are seen falling and twitching, sometimes curling as if grasping a body, then jerking, leaping, dropping, and writhing—an image meant to convey the intensity of slaughter in the Karṇa Parva battle.