Shloka 38
विकीर्णनन्त्रा विहतैरुत्तमाड्रै: सम्भग्नाड्ा: शिश्यिरे तत्र शूरा: छिन्ना हया: कुज्जराश्नापि भग्ना: संचूर्णिताश्वैव रथा: शिलाभि:,उस समय पत्थरोंकी मारसे आपके शूरवीरोंके मस्तक कुचल गये थे, अंग-भंग हो गये थे, उनकी आँतें बाहर निकलकर बिखर गयी थीं और इस अवस्थामें वे वहाँ पृथ्वीपर पड़े हुए थे। घोड़ोंके टुकड़े-टुकड़े हो गये थे, हाथियोंके सारे अंग कुचल गये थे और रथ चूर-चूर हो गये
vikīrṇanantrā vihatāir uttamāḍraiḥ sambhagnāṅgāḥ śiśyire tatra śūrāḥ | chinnā hayāḥ kuñjarāś cāpi bhagnāḥ sañcūrṇitāś caiva rathāḥ śilābhiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Struck by massive boulders, the warriors lay there with their entrails spilled and scattered, their bodies shattered and broken. Horses were cut to pieces, elephants were crushed and maimed, and chariots were smashed into fragments by the stones. The scene exposes the brutal cost of battle, where valor is inseparable from suffering and the field becomes a testimony to the consequences of wrath and violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grave human and material cost of war: heroism on the battlefield is inseparable from devastation. Ethically, it functions as a stark reminder that violence—however justified within kṣatriya duty—produces suffering that cannot be romanticized.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the aftermath of a fierce assault in which huge stones/boulders have struck the troops. Warriors lie broken with entrails scattered; horses are severed, elephants crushed, and chariots shattered.