Shloka 13
अध्याय ३१ — द्रोणानीके तुमुलसंग्रामः
The Tumultuous Battle around Droṇa’s Formation
नतु स््मरन्ति संग्राममपि वृद्धास्तथाविधम् । दृष्टपूर्व महाराज श्रुतपूर्वमथापि वा,महाराज! बड़े-बूढ़े लोग भी पहलेके देखे अथवा सुने हुए किसी भी वैसे संग्रामका स्मरण नहीं करते हैं
na tu smaranti saṅgrāmam api vṛddhās tathāvidham | dṛṣṭapūrva mahārāja śrutapūrvam athāpi vā ||
Sanjaya said: “O great king, even the elders do not recall any battle of such a kind—whether witnessed before or even heard of in tradition. This war has surpassed the bounds of remembered experience, revealing an unprecedented scale of destruction and moral shock.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how extreme violence can exceed the limits of collective memory and tradition, implying a moral and civilizational rupture: when war becomes unprecedented, it signals a collapse of restraint (dharma) and a warning about the consequences of unchecked conflict.
Sanjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the ongoing Kurukṣetra conflict has become so extraordinary that even the oldest people cannot cite any comparable battle from what they have seen or heard, emphasizing the war’s unparalleled intensity and devastation.