Shloka 476
जयद्रथवधः — The Slaying of Jayadratha
Sunset Vow and Curse-Condition
दीर्घकूचैर्मही कीर्णा विबर्हैरण्डजैरिव । उन लुटेरोंके लंबी दाढ़ीवाले शिरस्त्राणयुक्त मुण्डित मस्तकोंसे आच्छादित हुई रणभूमि पंखहीन पक्षियोंसे व्याप्त हुई-सी जान पड़ती थी
dīrghakūcair mahī kīrṇā vibharhair aṇḍajair iva | un luṭerōṅke lambī dāṛhī-vāle śirastrāṇa-yukta muṇḍita mastakōṅse ācchādit huī raṇabhūmi paṅkha-hīna pakṣibhiḥ vyāptā-sī jān paṛtī thī |
Sañjaya said: The earth was strewn with long-crested helmets, as though it were covered with featherless birds. The battlefield, blanketed by shaven heads fitted with helmets and marked by long beards, appeared like a ground overrun by wingless creatures—an image that underscores the dehumanizing aftermath of war and the moral cost of violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses stark simile to highlight how war reduces human identity to remnants—helmets, shaven heads, and lifeless bodies—inviting reflection on dharma and the ethical burden of violence even when fought under the banner of duty.
Sañjaya narrates to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the दृश्य of the battlefield after intense fighting in Droṇa Parva: the ground is covered with helmets and heads, and the scene is compared to a spread of wingless birds, emphasizing devastation and loss.