Shloka 41
शल्यपरिघातः (Śalya Under Encirclement) — Mahābhārata, Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 12
तद्रज: पुरुषव्यात्र शोणितेन प्रशामितम्
tad rajaḥ puruṣavyāghra śoṇitena praśāmitam
Sañjaya said: O tiger among men, that dust was quenched and laid to rest by blood—an image of the battlefield where the very earth’s rising haze is stilled by the grievous cost of violence, underscoring how war’s outward tumult is ultimately subdued only through suffering and loss.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse compresses a moral image: the battlefield’s dust—symbol of martial frenzy and movement—is ‘quenched’ only by blood, highlighting the grim truth that war’s momentum is paid for through human suffering, inviting reflection on the ethical cost even within kṣatriya duty.
Sañjaya describes the battle scene: dust raised by chariots and warriors becomes settled because it is drenched with blood from the fighting, emphasizing the intensity and carnage of the conflict.