Shloka 28
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 49: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament and Strategic Foreboding after Abhimanyu’s Fall
वाजिभिश्षापि निर्जीवै: श्वसद्धि: शोणितो क्षितै: । सारोहैरविषमा भूमि: सौभद्रेण निपातितैः,सुभद्राकुमार अभिमन्युके द्वारा मार गिराये हुए रक्तस्नात निर्जीव और सजीव घोड़ों और घुड़सवारोंके कारण वह भूमि विषम एवं दुर्गम हो गयी थी
vājibhiḥ śāpī nirjīvaiḥ śvasadbhiḥ śoṇito kṣitaiḥ | sārohāir aviṣamā bhūmiḥ saubhadreṇa nipātitaiḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: Tanah menjadi tidak rata dan sukar dilalui—dipenuhi kuda-kuda yang dijatuhkan Saubhadra (Abhimanyu), sebagian telah mati, sebagian masih megap-megap, berlumur darah—serta para penunggang yang tumbang. Pemandangan itu menegaskan harga perang yang kejam: dharma-kewajiban dan keberanian di medan laga tak terpisah dari derita dan beban etis kekerasan.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when war is framed as dharma-yuddha, its reality is brutal: the verse forces attention to the tangible suffering—gasping animals, fallen riders, blood-soaked earth—inviting ethical reflection on the human and non-human cost of violence.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield after Abhimanyu’s assault: horses and their riders have been cut down, some horses dead and some still breathing, and the ground has become uneven and difficult to cross because of the bodies and blood.