Shloka 43
योधानां च महाशड्खान् पाण्डुरांश्न॒ प्रकीर्णकान् । निरस्तजिद्दान् मातड़ान् शयानान् पर्वतोपमान्,“देखो, सोनेकी छोटी-छोटी घंटियोंसे सुशोभित बहुसंख्यक रथोंके कितने ही टुकड़े हो गये हैं और नाना प्रकारके घोड़े लहूलुहान होकर पड़े हैं। अनुकर्ष, उपासंग, पताका, नाना प्रकारके ध्वज, योद्धाओंके सब ओर बिखरे हुए बड़े-बड़े श्वेत शंख तथा कितने ही पर्वताकार हाथी जीभ निकाले सोये पड़े हैं
yodhānāṁ ca mahāśaṅkhān pāṇḍurāṁś ca prakīrṇakān | nirastajiddhān mātaṅgān śayānān parvatopamān ||
Sañjaya said: “And there were the great conch-shells of the warriors, scattered everywhere—white and strewn across the field. There too lay mighty elephants, cast down and motionless, like mountains, their bodies sprawled in death. The scene proclaimed the terrible cost of battle: the proud emblems and instruments of war reduced to debris, and living strength brought low.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the impermanence of martial glory: symbols of pride (great conches) lie scattered, and even mountain-like elephants are felled. It invites reflection on the ethical weight and human cost of war, as seen through a truthful witness’s report.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield aftermath: large white conch-shells are strewn about, and massive elephants lie prostrate like mountains, indicating heavy casualties and the collapse of once-formidable forces.