Shloka 31
अध्याय १५९ — रात्रौ श्रमविरामः
Night Exhaustion and Brief Pause in Battle
हताहरत गृह्नीत विध्यत व्यवकृन्तत । इत्यासीत् तुमुलः शब्दो युधिष्ठिररथं प्रति,युधिष्ठिरके रथके आसपास “मारो, ले आओ, पकड़ो, घायल करो, टुकड़े-टुकड़े कर डालो' इत्यादि भयंकर शब्द गूँजने लगा
hatāharata gṛhṇīta vidhyata vyavakṛntata | ity āsīt tumulaḥ śabdo yudhiṣṭhira-rathaṃ prati ||
ಸಂಜಯನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಯುಧಿಷ್ಠಿರನ ರಥದ ಕಡೆ “ಕೊಲ್ಲಿರಿ! ಎಳೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಬನ್ನಿರಿ! ಹಿಡಿಯಿರಿ! ಚುಚ್ಚಿರಿ! ತುಂಡು-ತುಂಡಾಗಿ ಕತ್ತರಿಸಿರಿ!” ಎಂಬ ಭಯಾನಕ, ಗರ್ಜಿಸುವ ಕೋಲಾಹಲ ಎದ್ದಿತು।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war erodes moral restraint: collective rage and violent commands surge even against Yudhiṣṭhira, emblematic of dharma. It implicitly contrasts the ideal of righteous conduct with the battlefield’s dehumanizing momentum, where victory-talk overrides compassion and measured judgment.
Sañjaya reports that a fierce, chaotic chorus of commands rises around Yudhiṣṭhira’s chariot—calls to kill, seize, pierce, and dismember—indicating that enemy fighters (and the surrounding host) are pressing toward him with intense aggression.