Shloka 79
Cakravyūha-saṃkalpaḥ, Saṃśaptaka-āhvānaṃ, Saubhadra-vikrīḍitam
Drona Parva, Adhyāya 32
प्रमोदने श्वापदपक्षिरक्षसां जनक्षये वर्तति तत्र दारुणे । महाबलास्ते कुपिता: परस्परं निषूदयन्त: प्रविचेरुरोजसा,वहाँ वह भयंकर जनसंहार हिंसक जन्तुओं, पक्षियों तथ राक्षसरोंको आनन्द प्रदान करनेवाला था। उसमें कुपित हुए वे महाबली शूरवीर एक-दूसरेको मारते हुए बलपूर्वक विचरण कर रहे थे
sañjaya uvāca |
pramodane śvāpadapakṣirakṣasāṃ janakṣaye vartati tatra dāruṇe |
mahābalās te kupitāḥ parasparaṃ niṣūdayantaḥ pravicerurojasā ||
Sañjaya said: In that dreadful slaughter of men, which brought grim delight to beasts of prey, birds, and rākṣasas, those mighty warriors—enraged with one another—moved about with force, cutting each other down. The scene underscores how war, once unrestrained by dharma, becomes a feast for death and a collapse of human order.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical degradation of war: when rage and mutual hatred dominate, human life is reduced to mere 'slaughter,' and the battlefield becomes a place where non-human predators and destructive forces thrive—an implicit warning about adharma and loss of restraint.
Sañjaya describes a horrific phase of the battle where powerful fighters, inflamed with anger, roam the field killing one another. The carnage is so intense that it is portrayed as pleasing to scavengers and rākṣasas who feed on death.