Shloka 37
आयोधनदर्शनम्
Viewing the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra
अपरे पुनरालिड्ग्य गदा: परिघबाहव: । शेरतेडभिमुखा: शूरा दयिता इव योषित:,“परिघके समान मोटी बाँहोंवाले दूसरे शूरवीर प्रेयसी युवतियोंकी भाँति गदाओंका आलिंगन करके सम्मुख सो रहे हैं
apare punarāliṅgya gadāḥ parighabāhavaḥ | śerate ’bhimukhāḥ śūrā dayitā iva yoṣitaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Others—heroes with arms thick like iron clubs—lie facing forward, clasping their maces in an embrace, as though the weapons were beloved women. The scene underscores the grim intimacy of war: even in death or exhausted sleep, the warrior’s bond is with his instrument of violence, revealing both steadfast valor and the tragic distortion of affection wrought by battle.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tragic intimacy between a warrior and his weapon: in the devastation of war, affection and identity become bound to instruments of violence. It invites ethical reflection on how battle reshapes human tenderness into attachment to killing tools, even while acknowledging steadfast valor.
In the aftermath of the great slaughter, Vaiśampāyana describes fallen or exhausted heroes lying on the field. Some are shown still clasping their maces, facing forward, as if embracing beloved women—an image that intensifies the pathos of the battlefield scene.