चेष्टन्तो विविधाश्रैष्टा व्यदृश्यन्त महाहवे । कुरुश्रेष्ठ! बाणोंके आघातसे कटे हुए योद्धा उस महासमरमें अनेक प्रकारकी चेष्टाएँ करते और छटपटाते दिखायी देते थे
ceṣṭanto vividhāḥ śreṣṭhā vyadṛśyanta mahāhave | kuruśreṣṭha bāṇānām āghātāt kaṭitā yoddhāḥ tasmin mahāsamare nānāvidhāś ceṣṭāḥ kurvantaḥ chaṭpaṭāyanta iva vyadṛśyanta |
ಸಂಜಯನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಓ ಕುರುಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ! ಆ ಮಹಾಸಮರದಲ್ಲಿ ಬಾಣಾಘಾತಗಳಿಂದ ಛಿನ್ನರಾದ ಅಗ್ರಯೋಧರು ವೇದನೆಯಿಂದ ವಶರಾಗಿ ನಾನಾವಿಧ ಅನಿಚ್ಛಿತ ಚಲನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾ, ತಡಫಡಿಸುತ್ತಾ, ಕಲುಷಿತವಾಗಿ ಕಾಣಿಸಿಕೊಂಡರು।
संजय उवाच
The verse underscores the harsh reality and moral weight of war: even the ‘best’ warriors become helpless under violence. It implicitly warns that glory in battle is inseparable from suffering and loss, inviting reflection on responsibility and the consequences of conflict.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, amid the great fighting, warriors struck and cut by arrows were visibly writhing and making varied, involuntary movements on the battlefield—an eyewitness-style depiction of the carnage.