Shloka 75
Cakravyūha-saṃkalpaḥ, Saṃśaptaka-āhvānaṃ, Saubhadra-vikrīḍitam
Drona Parva, Adhyāya 32
एवं सुकलिलं युद्धमासीत् क्रव्यादहर्षणम् । महद्विस्तैरभीतानां यमराष्ट्रविवर्धनम्
evaṁ sukalilaṁ yuddham āsīt kravyādaharṣaṇam | mahadvistair abhītānāṁ yamarāṣṭravivardhanam ||
Sañjaya said: Thus the battle became a dreadful mire, delighting the flesh-eaters. Vast and sprawling, it drove even the fearless toward death, swelling the realm of Yama. The scene underscores how war, once unrestrained, turns into a moral quagmire where violence feeds on itself and the harvest is only the increase of the dead.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames war as a moral and existential mire: when violence becomes pervasive, it nourishes only death and those who feed on destruction, and even the brave are swept into Yama’s domain. It cautions that unchecked conflict expands suffering rather than honor.
Sañjaya summarizes the battlefield’s condition: the fighting has turned into a vast, dreadful, blood-soaked chaos that attracts carrion-eaters and results in massive casualties—so many that it is said to ‘increase’ the kingdom of Yama.