Shloka 59
भीष्मस्य मध्याह्नयुद्धवर्णनम् / Mid-day Battle Description: Bhīṣma Engaged by the Pāñcālas
विशब्दैरल्पशब्दैश्व शोणितौघपरिप्लुतै: । गतासुभिरमित्रघ्न विबभौ निचिता मही
sañjaya uvāca |
viśabdair alpaśabdaiś ca śoṇitaughapariplutaiḥ |
gatāsubhir amitraghna vibabhau nicitā mahī ||
संजय बोले—शत्रुनाशक महाराज! वहाँ कुछ ऐसे गिरे थे जिनके मुख से शब्द न निकलता था, कुछ बहुत धीमे स्वर में कराहते थे; अधिकांश रक्तधाराओं में लथपथ थे और बहुत-से सर्वथा प्राणहीन पड़े थे। इनसे भूमि मानो ढेर-सी हो गई थी।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the human cost of warfare: beyond victory and strategy lie speechless suffering, dying breaths, and lifeless bodies. It implicitly presses an ethical awareness that even ‘righteous’ conflict (dharma-yuddha) carries grave consequences that must be faced without romanticizing violence.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra what the battlefield looks like: the ground is covered with the dead and the dying—some unable to speak, some barely speaking—many drenched in blood, making the earth appear densely strewn with bodies.