Shloka 5
Kurukṣetra-anudarśanam — Rāma-hradāḥ and the Question of Kṣatra Continuity (शान्ति पर्व, अध्याय ४८)
चितासहस्प्रचितं वर्मशस्त्रसमाकुलम् । आपानभूमिं कालस्य तथा भुक्तोज्झितामिव
citāsahasrapracitaṁ varmaśastrasamākulam | āpānabhūmiṁ kālasya tathā bhuktojjhitām iva ||
Waiśampāyana berkata: “Tanah itu dipenuhi ribuan tumpukan pembakaran jenazah, dan sesak oleh zirah serta senjata. Di mata, ia tampak bagaikan tempat jamuan Kāla—seolah Waktu-Maut telah berpesta di sana lalu meninggalkan sisa-sisa kelamnya.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses stark imagery to teach that war’s glory collapses into ruin under Kāla: weapons and armor become meaningless debris, and mass death turns the earth into a place of consumption for Time. It supports the Śānti-parvan’s ethical turn toward restraint, reflection, and dispassion after violence.
Vaiśampāyana describes a devastated ground covered with countless funeral pyres and littered with armor and weapons. The scene is likened to the dining-ground of Kāla, as if Death has ‘eaten’ there and left the leftovers—an evocative portrayal of the post-battle landscape.