Shloka 753
युधिष्ठिरस्य धनंजय-प्रति गर्हा
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Reproach to Dhanaṃjaya
विमानैरप्सर:सज्जैरगीतवादित्रनि:स्वनै: | युद्धकुशल वीरोंके विशाल
sañjaya uvāca | vimānaiḥ apsaraḥ-sajjaiḥ gīta-vāditra-niḥsvanaiḥ | yuddha-kuśala-vīrāṇāṃ viśāla-vistṛta-lohita-locanaiḥ kamala-candra-samāna-mukhaiś ca mastakaiḥ sarvā yuddha-bhūmiḥ samantād ācchāditā | bhūtale yathā kolāhalaḥ, tathā ākāśe'pi lokānāṃ śrūyate | tatra vimāneṣu niṣaṇṇāḥ śreṇī-śreṇī apsaraso gīta-vādyānāṃ madhura-dhvaniṃ prasārayanti |
サञ्जयは語った。天女アプサラスを満載した天の車（ヴィマーナ）が、歌と楽器の響きを轟かせていた。戦に巧みな勇士たちの断たれた首—大きく見開かれ血に赤く染まった眼、蓮華や月にたとえられる面貌—が、戦場を四方から覆い尽くした。地上に湧き上がる喧噪は、天にも同じく聞こえた。そこでは、空の車に座したアプサラスの群れが、甘美な歌と音楽の調べを広く放っていた――屠戮のただ中に差し込む不気味な天上の伴奏であり、戦の暴虐が極まるその瞬間に、勇士たちが彼岸へ移りゆくことを暗示しているかのようであった。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring moral tension: heroic prowess and worldly glory culminate in death and devastation, while the cosmos remains indifferent yet orderly—signaled by celestial beings and music. It invites reflection on the cost of war and the transience of embodied life, even for celebrated warriors.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield at a climactic moment: severed heads of warriors cover the ground, the din of battle rises so intensely it seems to fill even the sky, and apsarases in aerial cars are portrayed as singing and playing instruments above—framing the slaughter as both horrific and cosmically witnessed.