Shloka 8
कृष्णेन अर्जुनस्य प्रोत्साहनम् — Kṛṣṇa’s Exhortation to Arjuna
Prelude to Karṇa’s Slaying
घोरमायोधन जज्ञे पशूनां वैशसं यथा । वहाँ मारे जाते और एक-दूसरेको कोसते हुए शूरवीरोंके आर्तनादसे वह युद्धस्थल वैसा ही भयंकर जान पड़ता था, मानो वहाँ पशुओंका वध किया जा रहा हो ।।
ghoram āyodhanaṁ jajñe paśūnāṁ vaiśasaṁ yathā | rudhireṇa samāstīrṇā bhāti bhārata medinī ||
Sañjaya dit : Une bataille effroyable s’éleva, pareille à l’abattage des bêtes. Recouverte de sang en tous lieux, la terre des Bhārata paraissait sombre et terrible, rendue plus épouvantable encore par les cris des guerriers qu’on tuait et qui se maudissaient l’un l’autre, comme si un abattoir s’était animé sur le champ de guerre.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical horror of war: even when framed as kṣatriya-duty, battle can devolve into indiscriminate slaughter. By likening the field to animal butchery and stressing blood-soaked earth and anguished cries, it warns that violence dehumanizes and leaves a moral stain, urging reflection on dharma amid conflict.
Sañjaya narrates to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the intensity of the fighting in the Karṇa Parva: the battlefield has become terrifying, filled with the cries of dying warriors, mutual curses, and the ground strewn with blood—so dreadful it resembles a place where animals are being slaughtered.