Shloka 24
गजाश्वमनुजैर्भिन्नि: शोणिताक्तैश्व पत्रिभि: | तैस्तैश्व विविधैभिन्निस्तत्र तत्र वसुंधरा
gajāśvamanujair bhinnāḥ śoṇitāktaiś ca patribhiḥ | tais tais ca vividhair bhinnis tatra tatra vasuṃdharā ||
Sañjaya said: The earth lay torn apart in many places—split by fallen elephants, horses, and men, and pierced by blood-smeared arrows of every kind—so that everywhere the ground was scarred by the violence of battle. The scene underscores the moral cost of war: when wrath and rivalry rule, even the sustaining earth becomes a witness to suffering and ruin.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the destructive aftermath of war: the battlefield’s carnage scars even the earth. Ethically, it points to the heavy human and cosmic cost of unchecked hostility, reminding readers that victory pursued through violence leaves lasting wounds.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the condition of the battlefield: the ground is littered with and torn by the bodies of elephants, horses, and men, and is pierced by many kinds of arrows smeared with blood, showing the intensity of the fighting.