Shloka 5
रणभूमिवर्णनम् — Devāsuropama-yuddha and the ‘River’ Metaphor of the Battlefield
ततो बलानि सर्वाणि हतशिष्टानि भारत । प्रस्थितानि व्यदृश्यन्त मृत्युं कृत्वा निवर्तनम्,भारत! तत्पश्चात् मरनेसे बची हुई सारी सेनाएँ मृत्युको ही युद्धसे लौटनेका निमित्त बनाकर प्रस्थान करती दिखायी दीं
tato balāni sarvāṇi hataśiṣṭāni bhārata | prasthitāni vyadṛśyanta mṛtyuṁ kṛtvā nivartanam ||
Sañjaya dit : Alors, ô Bhārata, toutes les forces restantes —celles qui avaient survécu au carnage— furent vues se mettre en marche, faisant de la mort elle-même la cause et la condition de leur retrait. Ce n’était pas pour se sauver qu’on se retirait, mais parce que le champ de bataille était devenu un lieu où revenir ne pouvait se faire qu’en passant par la mort.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral and existential collapse that follows mass violence: when dharma is eclipsed by relentless slaughter, even the act of retreat loses its ordinary meaning and becomes bound to death. It highlights the tragic cost of war and the inevitability that follows adharma-driven conflict.
Sañjaya reports to the listener addressed as 'Bhārata' that the surviving remnants of the armies, after heavy casualties, are seen moving away—yet their withdrawal is portrayed as conditioned by death itself, emphasizing that the battlefield has become so lethal that departure is inseparable from mortality.