Shloka 57
Chapter 23: Śakuni Reports, Kaurava Advance, and Arjuna’s Penetration of the Host
रुधिरोक्षितसन्नाहैरात्तशस्त्रैरुदायुधै: । नानाप्रहरणैघोरै: परस्परवधैषिभि:
rudhirokṣitasannāhair āttaśastrair udāyudhaiḥ | nānāpraharaṇair ghoraiḥ parasparavadhaiṣibhiḥ ||
Sañjaya dit : Ils se tenaient là, les cuirasses trempées de sang, les armes saisies et brandies—munis de toutes sortes de projectiles et d’engins de guerre terrifiants—chacun ne visant que la destruction de l’autre. La scène montre que, lorsque le dharma est éclipsé par la colère et la rivalité, les guerriers deviennent des instruments d’abattage réciproque plutôt que des gardiens de l’ordre.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral collapse that war can produce: when hostility dominates, combatants become mutually destructive, and the protective purpose of kṣatriya power (upholding order and dharma) is overshadowed by the drive to kill.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield condition of the fighters: armored and blood-soaked, weapons raised, equipped with many fearsome arms, they confront each other with the explicit aim of mutual slaughter.