Shloka 37
मनुष्यगजवाजीनां शरशव्त्यूष्टितोमरै: । निस्त्रिंशै: पट्टिशै: प्रासैर्नखरैर्लगुडैरपि,'शत्रुसूदन अर्जुन! बाण, शक्ति, ऋष्टि, तोमर, खड़्ग, पट्टिश, प्रास, नखर और लगुडोंकी मारसे हाथी, घोड़े और मनुष्योंके शरीरोंके कई टुकड़े हो गये हैं। वे सब-के-सब खूनसे लथपथ हो प्राणशून्य होकर पड़े हैं और उनके द्वारा सारी रणभूमि पट गयी है
sañjaya uvāca | manuṣya-gaja-vājīnām śara-śakty-ṛṣṭi-tomaraiḥ | nistriṁśaiḥ paṭṭiśaiḥ prāsair nakharair laguḍair api |
Sañjaya said: O Arjuna, subduer of foes, by the blows of arrows, spears, lances, javelins, swords, battle-axes, pikes, claw-like weapons, and clubs, the bodies of men, elephants, and horses have been hewn into many pieces. All of them, drenched in blood and bereft of life, lie strewn about, and by them the entire battlefield has been covered—an unflinching portrayal of war’s ruthless cost and the grave moral weight borne by those who wage it.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the stark reality of war: life is shattered indiscriminately across humans and animals, and the battlefield becomes a testimony to mortality. Implicitly, it presses the ethical gravity of kṣatriya action—duty pursued in war carries irreversible consequences, demanding sobriety, restraint, and accountability.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, addressing Arjuna by epithet, describing how varied weapons have mutilated and slain men, elephants, and horses. The dead, soaked in blood, lie scattered so densely that the battlefield appears covered by their bodies.