Shloka 383
अचिरेण महीं पार्थश्च॒कार रुधिरोत्तराम् । जैसे प्रचण्ड अग्नि घास-फ़ूसके जंगलको जला डालती है, उसी प्रकार अर्जुनने आपकी सेनाको दग्ध करते हुए थोड़ी ही देरमें वहाँकी भूमिको रक्तसे आप्लावित कर दिया
acireṇa mahīṁ pārthaś cakāra rudhirottarām |
Sañjaya said: In a very short time, Pārtha (Arjuna) turned that ground into a field overflowing with blood. As a fierce fire consumes a thicket of dry grass and brushwood, so did Arjuna, burning through your army, quickly flood the earth there with gore—an image that underscores the terrible moral cost and dehumanizing momentum of war even when fought under the compulsion of duty.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim ethical weight of warfare: even when a warrior acts under dharma as a kṣatriya, the outcome is still catastrophic and morally sobering. The fire-simile stresses how violence can become swift and consuming, demanding reflection on responsibility, restraint, and the human cost.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Arjuna (Pārtha) is cutting down the Kaurava forces so rapidly that the battlefield ground is soon drenched and overflowing with blood, likened (in the accompanying gloss) to a blazing fire burning through dry grass.