Shloka 24
Adhyāya 140: Rātriyuddhe Droṇa-prāpti-prayatnaḥ
Night engagement and the attempt to reach Droṇa
गजाश्वमनुजैर्भिन्नि: शोणिताक्तैश्व पत्रिभि: | तैस्तैश्व विविधैभिन्निस्तत्र तत्र वसुंधरा
gajāśvamanujair bhinnāḥ śoṇitāktaiś ca patribhiḥ | tais tais ca vividhair bhinnis tatra tatra vasuṃdharā ||
サञ्जयは言った。「大地は至る所で引き裂かれていた。倒れた象・馬・人によって裂け、血にまみれたさまざまな矢に貫かれ、どこもかしこも戦の暴威の傷痕が刻まれていた。この光景は戦の道義的代償を示す。憤怒と対抗心が支配するとき、命を養う大地さえも苦悩と荒廃の証人となるのだ。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the destructive aftermath of war: the battlefield’s carnage scars even the earth. Ethically, it points to the heavy human and cosmic cost of unchecked hostility, reminding readers that victory pursued through violence leaves lasting wounds.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the condition of the battlefield: the ground is littered with and torn by the bodies of elephants, horses, and men, and is pierced by many kinds of arrows smeared with blood, showing the intensity of the fighting.