कृष्णेन अर्जुनस्य प्रोत्साहनम् — Kṛṣṇa’s Exhortation to Arjuna
Prelude to Karṇa’s Slaying
उत्थितान्यगणेयानि कबन्धानि समन्ततः,वहाँ चारों ओर उठे हुए अगणित कबन्ध और रक्त-मांससे तृप्त हुए भूतगण नृत्य कर रहे थे। भारत! ये सब-के-सब रक्त तथा वसा पीकर छके हुए थे
utthitāny agaṇeyāni kabandhāni samantataḥ |
Sañjaya berkata: “Di segala penjuru, bangkit tak terhitung banyaknya tubuh-tubuh tanpa kepala. Di sekelilingnya, kawanan makhluk halus—kenyang oleh darah dan daging—menari dengan kegilaan. Wahai Bhārata, mereka semua mabuk, setelah meneguk darah dan lemak.”
संजय उवाच
The verse underscores the moral and existential cost of war: when slaughter becomes excessive, the battlefield is portrayed as a space where humanity collapses into horror, and ominous, inauspicious forces appear—signaling the karmic weight and ethical degradation tied to mass violence.
Sañjaya describes a gruesome battlefield scene: innumerable headless bodies stand or rise amid the carnage, while supernatural beings (bhūtas) dance, having gorged on blood, flesh, and fat—an ominous depiction intensifying the dread and inauspiciousness of the ongoing combat.