Shloka 256
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५७
Arjuna’s targeted advance; Śalya–Karṇa dialogue; interception attempts
वाजिनश्न हतान् पश्य निष्कीर्णान्त्राउ्शराहतान् | “देखो, जिनमें सोनेकी छोटी-छोटी घंटियाँ लगी हैं, ऐसे बहुत-से सुन्दर रथ टुकड़े- टुकड़े होकर पड़े हैं। वे बाणोंसे घायल हुए घोड़े मरे पड़े हैं और उनकी आँतें बाहर निकल आयी हैं
vājināś ca hatān paśya niṣkīrṇāntrān śarāhatān |
Sañjaya said: “Behold the horses lying slain—pierced by arrows, their entrails spilled out.” The scene underscores the brutal cost of war, where even noble steeds and splendid war-gear are reduced to ruin, confronting the listener with the ethical weight of violence on the battlefield.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse confronts the listener with the stark reality of battlefield violence: even magnificent instruments of war—like trained war-horses—suffer horrific ends. It implicitly challenges any romanticization of war and highlights the moral gravity and human (and animal) cost that accompanies kṣatriya conflict.
Sañjaya, describing the Kurukṣetra battle to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, points out slain horses struck by arrows, with their entrails spilled out—an immediate, graphic snapshot of the devastation on the field.