Shloka 45
Chapter 89: Bhīma dispatched to protect Ghaṭotkaca amid escalating engagements
राक्षसाश्ष पिशाचाश्न तथान्ये पिशिताशिन: । समन्ततो व्यदृश्यन्त शतशो5थ सहस्रश:,चारों ओर राक्षस, पिशाच तथा अन्य मांसाहारी जन्तु सैकड़ों और हजारोंकी संख्यामें दिखायी देने लगे
rākṣasāś ca piśācāś ca tathānye piśitāśinaḥ | samantato vyadṛśyanta śataśo 'tha sahasraśaḥ ||
સંજય બોલ્યો—ચારે તરફ રાક્ષસો, પિશાચો તથા અન્ય માંસાહારી પ્રાણીઓ સૈકડાઓ, પછી હજારોની સંખ્યામાં દેખાવા લાગ્યા।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how large-scale violence and moral disorder are portrayed as attracting inauspicious, fear-inducing forces. In the epic’s ethical imagination, war is not merely physical conflict; it disturbs the cosmic and psychological order, producing ominous signs that warn of suffering and the erosion of dharma.
Sañjaya reports a terrifying sight on the battlefield: rākṣasas, piśācas, and other flesh-eating beings appear everywhere in vast numbers. This functions as a portent-like description intensifying the dread and foreboding surrounding the battle.