Shloka 70
Chapter 23: Śakuni Reports, Kaurava Advance, and Arjuna’s Penetration of the Host
सायुधानां च बाहूनामूरूणां च विशाम्पते | आसीत् कटकटाशब्द: सुमहॉल्लोमहर्षण:,प्रजानाथ! छिन्न-भिन्न होकर धरतीपर गिरनेवाले कवचशून्य शरीरों, आयुधोंसहित भुजाओं और जाँघोंका अत्यन्त भयंकर एवं रोमांचकारी कट-कट शब्द सुनायी पड़ता था
sāyudhānāṃ ca bāhūnām ūrūṇāṃ ca viśāmpate | āsīt kaṭakaṭāśabdaḥ sumahāṃl lomaharṣaṇaḥ prajānātha |
Sañjaya berkata: Wahai penguasa manusia, terdengarlah bunyi ‘kaṭa-kaṭa’ yang amat dahsyat dan membuat bulu kuduk berdiri, ketika lengan dan paha yang masih menggenggam senjata, serta tubuh-tubuh tanpa zirah yang tercabik-cabik, jatuh menghantam bumi.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a moral-psychological reminder: war’s reality is not glory but dismemberment and terror. By emphasizing the hair-raising clatter of severed, armorless bodies and limbs, it implicitly critiques the dehumanizing momentum of conflict and invites reflection on dharma, restraint, and the human cost of kṣatriya warfare.
Sañjaya reports to the king that, amid the battle, severed bodies, arms holding weapons, and thighs are falling to the ground. Their impact and collision produce a loud ‘kaṭa-kaṭa’ clattering sound, described as immense and frightening.