Shloka 32
भीष्मवधाय प्रयाणम् — The Advance toward Bhīṣma and Counter-Engagements
शोणितोदं शरावर्त गजद्दीपं हयोर्मिणम् | रथनौभिरन्नरव्याप्रा: प्रतेर: सैन्यसागरम्,वह सेना एक समुद्रके समान थी। रक्त ही वहाँ जलके समान था। बाणोंकी भँवर उठती थी। हाथी द्वीपके समान जान पड़ते थे और घोड़े तरंगकी शोभा धारण करते थे। रथरूपी नौकाओंके द्वारा नरश्रेष्ठ वीर उस सैन्य-सागरको पार करते थे
sañjaya uvāca |
śoṇitodaṁ śarāvartaṁ gajadvīpaṁ hayormimam |
rathanāubhir naraśreṣṭhāḥ prateruḥ sainyasāgaram ||
Sañjaya said: That army was like a vast ocean—its water was blood, its whirlpools were the circling arrows; elephants stood like islands, and horses rose like waves. In that sea of battle, the foremost of men crossed over in chariots as if in boats—an image of war’s overwhelming force and the warriors’ relentless resolve amid a field soaked in violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is primarily descriptive rather than doctrinal: it portrays war as an all-consuming ‘ocean’ that must be crossed, highlighting both the grandeur and the horror of battle. Ethically, it underscores the immense cost of conflict—blood as ‘water’—even while acknowledging the warriors’ steadfast courage and kṣatriya resolve.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the intensity of the Kurukṣetra fighting. He likens the army to a sea of blood with arrow-whirlpools; elephants appear as islands, horses as waves, and warriors move through it using chariots like boats, conveying the scale and turbulence of the battle.