Shloka 43
अभिमन्यु–अलम्बुसयुद्धम् / The Duel of Abhimanyu and Alambusa
with Arjuna’s approach to Bhīṣma
अन्योन्यं समपश्यन्त निकृत्ता मेदिनीतले । विचेष्टमाना: कृपणा: शोणितेन परिप्लुता:,तब उस मायासे डरकर आपके सभी सैनिक युद्धसे विमुख हो गये। उन्होंने एक- दूसरेको तथा द्रोण, दुर्योधन, शल्य और अश्वत्थामाको भी इस प्रकार देखा--सब-के-सब छिन्न-भिन्न हो पृथ्वीपर गिरकर छटपटा रहे हैं और खूनसे लथपथ होकर दयनीय दशाको पहुँच गये हैं। कौरवोंमें जो महान् धनुर्धर एवं प्रधान वीर हैं, प्रायः वे सभी रथी विध्वंसको प्राप्त हो गये हैं। सब राजा मार गिराये गये हैं तथा हजारों घोड़े और घुड़सवार टुकड़े-टुकड़े होकर पड़े हैं
anyonyam samapaśyanta nikṛttā medinītale | viceṣṭamānāḥ kṛpaṇāḥ śoṇitena pariplutāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: They looked upon one another—hewn down upon the surface of the earth—wretched and writhing, drenched in blood. The scene presents the stark moral cost of battle: warriors reduced to pitiable suffering, a grim reminder that victory in war is inseparable from widespread human ruin.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical gravity of war by foregrounding the immediate human consequence—mutilation, agony, and bloodshed. It functions as a moral mirror: even when framed as duty, warfare entails pervasive suffering that should temper triumphalism and provoke reflection on dharma and responsibility.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra what is seen on the battlefield: combatants, cut down and fallen to the ground, look at one another while writhing in pain, drenched in blood. The description is observational and visceral, emphasizing the chaos and devastation among the troops.