Shloka 16
धृतराष्ट्र-संजय-संवादः — दुर्योधनस्य ह्रदप्रवेशः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Saṃjaya Dialogue: Duryodhana’s Entry into the Lake
महाराज! अंगद, कवच, खड़्ग, प्रास और फरसोंसहित कटी हुई हाथीकी सूड़के समान भुजाओं, छिन्न-भिन्न एवं खड़े होकर नाचते हुए कबन्धों तथा अन्य लोगोंसे भरी और मांसभक्षी जीव-जन्तुओंसे आच्छादित हुई यह पृथ्वी बड़ी भयंकर प्रतीत होती थी ।। अल्पावशिटष्टे सैन्ये तु कौरवेयान् महाहवे । प्रह्शा: पाण्डवा भूत्वा निन्यिरे यमसादनम्
sañjaya uvāca |
mahārāja! aṅgada-kavaca-khaḍga-prāsa-paraśu-sahita-kṛtā-hastī-sūṇḍā-sadṛśa-bhujābhiḥ, chinna-bhinna-sthitvā nṛtyamāna-kabandhaiḥ tathā anyaiś ca janaiḥ paripūrṇā, māṃsa-bhakṣibhiḥ jīva-jantubhiḥ ācchāditā iyaṃ pṛthivī mahā-ghorā pratibhāti sma ||
alpāvaśiṣṭe sainye tu kauraveyān mahāhave |
prāhṛṣṭāḥ pāṇḍavā bhūtvā ninyire yamasādanam ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, the earth looked utterly dreadful—strewn with severed arms like elephant trunks, still bearing armlets, armor, swords, spears, and axes; crowded with headless torsos that seemed to dance as they stood; filled with other fallen men; and covered over by flesh-eating creatures. And when only a small remnant of the Kaurava host remained in that great battle, the Pāṇḍavas, exultant, drove the Kauravas to Yama’s abode (death).”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grim moral cost of war: even when victory approaches, the battlefield is a scene of mutilation and death, reminding the listener that triumph is inseparable from suffering and impermanence.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the battlefield has become terrifying—littered with severed limbs and headless trunks and swarmed by scavengers—and that, with the Kaurava army reduced to a small remnant, the Pāṇḍavas press the attack and send many Kauravas to death (Yama’s abode).