कृष्णेन अर्जुनस्य प्रोत्साहनम् — Kṛṣṇa’s Exhortation to Arjuna
Prelude to Karṇa’s Slaying
मेदोमज्जावसामत्तास्तृप्ता मांसस्य चैव ह । धावमाना: सम दृश्यन्ते काकगृध्रबकास्तथा
medomajjāvasā-mattās tṛptā māṁsasya caiva ha | dhāvamānāḥ sama-dṛśyante kāka-gṛdhra-bakās tathā ||
Sañjaya dit : «Ivres de graisse, de moelle et de suif, et rassasiés de chair, on voyait les corbeaux, les vautours et les grues courir çà et là.»
संजय उवाच
The verse functions as a stark ethical mirror: war reduces human bodies to carrion, and the ‘victory’ of battle is shown as a feast for scavengers. It warns that adharma-driven violence degrades all participants and turns the field of heroism into a scene of moral and physical ruin.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the gruesome aftermath on the battlefield: scavenger birds, having fed on the slain, are visibly gorged and restless, running about amid the carnage.