Shloka 33
यमराष्ट्रोपमं घोरमासीदायोधनं तयो: । दुर्दर्श भरतश्रेष्ठ प्रेतराजपुरं यथा,भरतश्रेष्ठ! उन दोनोंका संग्राम यमराजके राज्यके समान अत्यन्त भयंकर था। प्रेतराजकी पुरीके समान उसकी ओर देखना अत्यन्त कठिन हो रहा था
sañjaya uvāca | yamarāṣṭropamaṃ ghoraṃ āsīd āyodhanaṃ tayoḥ | durdarśa bharataśreṣṭha pretarājapuraṃ yathā ||
Sañjaya said: O best of the Bharatas, the battle between those two became terrifying—like the very realm of Yama. It was as hard to look upon as the city of the Lord of the departed, for it seemed to embody death’s dominion and the moral dread that follows when warriors are driven beyond restraint.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical gravity of war: when combat turns utterly fearsome, it resembles the realm of Death itself. The simile warns that violence, even within kṣatriya duty, can cross into a morally chilling space where the human capacity to witness and endure is strained.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the clash between the two sides/warriors has become so dreadful that it feels like Yama’s kingdom; the battlefield is nearly unwatchable, like the city of the Lord of the dead.