Shloka 3
अध्याय ८८ — घटोत्कच-दुर्योधनयुद्धवर्णनम्
Ghaṭotkaca–Duryodhana Engagement
निपेतुराजौ रुधिरप्रदिग्धा- स्ते ताडिता: शक्रसुतेन राजन् | विभिन्नगात्रा: पतितोत्तमाड़ा गतासवश्शकछिन्नतनुत्रकाया:,राजन! इन्द्रपुत्र अर्जुनके द्वारा ताड़ित होकर वे सभी नरेश खूनसे लथपथ हो युद्धभूमिमें गिर पड़े। उनके अंग छिन्न-भिन्न हो गये थे, मस्तक कटकर दूर जा गिरे थे, कवच और शरीरके टुकड़े-टुकड़े हो गये थे और इस अवस्थामें पहुँचकर उन्हें अपने प्राण खो देने पड़े थे
sañjaya uvāca |
nipetur ājau rudhira-pradigdhās te tāḍitāḥ śakra-sutena rājan |
vibhinnagātrāḥ patitottamāṅgā gatāsavaś chinna-tanūtra-kāyāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: O King, struck down by Śakra’s son, those rulers—smeared with blood—fell upon the battlefield. Their limbs were shattered, their heads severed and cast away; their armor and bodies were torn to pieces, and in that condition they gave up their lives. The verse starkly underscores the terrible cost of war, where royal valor and worldly status collapse before the impartial violence of battle.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the grim reality and moral weight of warfare: even kings, symbols of power and prestige, become equal before death. It implicitly urges reflection on the cost of conflict and the seriousness with which kṣatriya-dharma (the warrior duty) must be undertaken, since its consequences are irreversible.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Arjuna (called Śakra’s son) has struck down many rulers in battle. They fall bloodied on the field, dismembered and beheaded, their armor and bodies cut apart, and they die there.