Shloka 24
भीमसेनस्य बहुमहारथसंयुगः
Bhīmasena’s Engagement with Multiple Mahārathas
बाहुभि: कार्मुकै: खड़्गैः शिरोभिश्व सकुण्डलै: । तलन्रैरड्गुलित्रैश्व ध्वजैश्न विनिपातितै:
bāhubhiḥ kārmukaiḥ khaḍgaiḥ śirobhiś ca sakuṇḍalaiḥ | talanrair aṅgulitraiś ca dhvajaiś ca vinipātitaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: The battlefield was strewn with severed arms, bows, and swords; with heads still adorned with earrings; with palms and fingers cut away; and with fallen standards—grim signs of the war’s relentless destruction and the terrible cost paid by warriors who had entered combat bound by their chosen duty.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the harsh reality and moral gravity of war: even when fought under kṣatriya-duty, battle entails irreversible loss. It invites reflection on responsibility, restraint, and the human cost behind martial glory.
Sañjaya describes the aftermath of intense fighting: the ground is littered with fallen weapons, severed limbs, heads still ornamented, and toppled standards—conveying the scale of slaughter and the collapse of many warriors’ forces.