Shloka 366
अध्याय २६ — शल्यस्य सारथ्य-नियोजनं, कर्णस्य प्रस्थानं, उत्पातदर्शनं च
Chapter 26: Śalya appointed as charioteer; Karṇa’s departure; portents
निहतै राजपुतन्रैश्न क्षत्रियैश्व॒ महाबलै: । उस समय वहाँ मारे गये राजकुमारों तथा महाबली क्षत्रियोंकी लाशोंसे वह युद्धस्थल गन्धर्वनगरके समान भयानक जान पड़ता था
nihataiḥ rājaputraiś ca kṣatriyaiś ca mahābalaiḥ | tadā tatra hatānāṃ rājaputrāṇāṃ mahābalānāṃ ca kṣatriyāṇāṃ śavair yuddhasthalaṃ gandharvanagarasadṛśaṃ bhayānakaṃ babhūva |
Sañjaya said: With the princes and the mighty kṣatriya warriors slain, the battlefield at that time—strewn with the bodies of fallen royal sons and powerful fighters—appeared terrifying, like a Gandharva-city: splendid in image yet dreadful in reality. The scene underscores the moral cost of war, where royal lineage and strength alike end in the same silence of death.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical gravity of war: even princes and mighty warriors, symbols of power and lineage, become indistinguishable in death. The comparison to a Gandharva-city suggests a deceptive splendor—war may look grand, but its reality is fearsome and morally costly.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield after intense fighting: many royal sons and powerful kṣatriyas have been killed, and the ground is covered with corpses. The scene is so overwhelming that it seems like a terrifying Gandharva-city.