Shloka 40
शिरो रथे<स्य निक्षिप्प विकृताननमूर्थजम् । प्राणदद् भैरवं नादं प्रावषीव बलाहक:ः
śiro rathe 'sya nikṣipya vikṛtānana-mūrdhajam | prāṇadad bhairavaṃ nādaṃ prāvṛṣīva balāhakaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Having cast his head upon the chariot—its face and hair grotesquely distorted—he let out a terrifying cry, like a rain-cloud thundering at the onset of the monsoon. The scene underscores the war’s moral horror: even the fall of a warrior becomes a spectacle of dread, where fear and violence drown out restraint and compassion.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical darkness of war: death and mutilation become instruments of terror. It implicitly warns that when dharma collapses in battle, human dignity is eclipsed by fear, and violence multiplies through intimidation.
Sañjaya describes a severed head being thrown onto a chariot; its distorted face and hair are noted for their gruesomeness. A dreadful roar is heard, compared to the thunder of a monsoon cloud, intensifying the atmosphere of panic and brutality on the battlefield.