Shloka 9
भीमसेनस्य कौरवसुतवधः तथा श्रुतर्वावधः
Slaying of Kaurava princes and the fall of Śrutarvā
निःश्वसन्ति सम दृश्यन्ते पार्थबाणहता नरा: । तानन्ये रथमारोप्य ह्वाश्वास्य च मुहूर्तकम्
niḥśvasanti sama dṛśyante pārthabāṇahatā narāḥ | tān anye ratham āropya hvāśvāsyā ca muhūrtakam
サンジャヤは言った。「アルジュナの矢に倒れた兵たちは、そこに横たわり、荒い息をつき、かすかに命をつないでいるのが見えた。ほかの者たちは傷ついた戦士を戦車に引き上げ、水を与え、しばし息を整えさせてから、束の間でも意識を取り戻させようとした——絶え間なく回り続ける戦の歯車の中で、慈しみがただ慌ただしい合間にのみ現れることを示す光景である。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the human cost of battle: even amid kṣatriya warfare, the sight of wounded men gasping for breath evokes the ethical tension between duty in war and the impulse to relieve suffering—yet such care is fleeting, constrained by the ongoing violence.
Sañjaya reports that warriors struck by Arjuna’s arrows are seen lying and gasping; their companions lift them onto chariots and briefly revive or console them, giving them a momentary respite before the battle’s pressure resumes.