Shloka 47
अस्त्रयुद्धे द्रौणिपार्थसंघर्षः — Karṇa’s Bhārgavāstra and the Search for Yudhiṣṭhira
Chapter 45
पश्य कड्कांश्व गृध्रांश्ष समवेतान् सहस्रश:
paśya kaṅkāṃś ca gṛdhrāṃś ca samavetān sahasraśaḥ
サンジャヤは言った。「見よ——鳶と禿鷲が、幾千ともなく群れ集まっている。」この一句は戦場の屠殺が避けがたいことを示す。勝敗が語られる前から、屍肉をあさる鳥の出現が、戦の倫理的重荷と、暴力の後に必ず訪れる死を告げている。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a moral and psychological warning: war’s ‘victory’ is inseparable from mass death. The gathered carrion-birds symbolize the karmic and ethical cost of violence, reminding the listener that adharma in conflict culminates in destruction.
Sañjaya, narrating events of the Kurukṣetra war, points out the ominous sight of kites and vultures massing on the battlefield—an image that foreshadows heavy casualties and intensifies the dread and gravity of the moment.