Shloka 46
जयद्रथवधः — The Slaying of Jayadratha
Sunset Vow and Curse-Condition
शबराणां किरातानां बर्बराणां तथैव च । अगम्यरूपां पृथिवीं मांसशोणितकर्दमाम्
śabarāṇāṃ kirātānāṃ barbarāṇāṃ tathaiva ca | agamyarūpāṃ pṛthivīṃ māṃsaśoṇitakardamām ||
Sañjaya said: “(It appeared) a land of Śabaras, Kirātas, and Barbaras—indeed of such wild peoples—an earth rendered unapproachable in aspect, turned into mire of flesh and blood.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral horror of war through stark imagery: the battlefield becomes ‘unapproachable,’ a mire of flesh and blood. By likening the scene to a land of wild tribes, the narration conveys a collapse of civilized order and a descent into brutality—inviting reflection on the ethical cost of unchecked violence.
Sañjaya, reporting events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describes the battlefield’s dreadful condition. The ground is so soaked with gore that it seems like an impassable wasteland, emphasizing the intensity of slaughter in the Drona Parva conflict.