Shloka 38
भीष्मरथाभिमुख्यं — Arjuna’s advance with Śikhaṇḍin; Duḥśāsana’s interception
अपोवाह रणे भीरून् कश्मलेनाभिसंवृतान् । यथा वैतरणी प्रेतान् प्रेतराजपुरं प्रति,जैसे वैतरणी नदी मरे हुए प्राणियोंको प्रेतराजके नगरमें पहुँचाती है, उसी प्रकार वह रक्तमयी नदी डरपोक और कायरोंको मूर्च्छित-से करके रणभूमिसे दूर हटाने लगी
apo vāha raṇe bhīrūn kaśmalenābhisaṃvṛtān | yathā vaitaraṇī pretān pretarājapuraṃ prati ||
Sañjaya said: In the battle, it swept away the fearful—those enveloped by despair and confusion—just as the Vaitaraṇī carries the dead toward the city of the Lord of the departed. So that blood-like river drove the timid, as if fainting, away from the field of war, portraying how inner collapse in dharma-yuddha turns a warrior into one already half-conquered by death.
संजय उवाच