Shloka 29
Chapter 26: Śoka-pratiṣedha, Hata-saṅkhyā, Gati-vibhāga, Pretakārya-ājñā
Restraint of Grief, Count of the Slain, Destinies, and Funerary Directives
समाहृत्य महाहाणि दारूणां चैव संजयान् । रथांश्व मृदितांस्तत्र नानाप्रहरणानि च
samāhṛtya mahāhāṇi dārūṇāṃ caiva saṃjayān | rathāṃśva-mṛditāṃs tatra nānā-praharaṇāni ca
അവർ വിറകുകളുടെ വലിയ വലിയ കൂമ്പാരങ്ങളും ശേഖരങ്ങളും കൂട്ടിച്ചേർത്തു; അവിടെ ചതഞ്ഞുകിടന്ന രഥങ്ങളും കുതിരകളും, നാനാവിധ ആയുധങ്ങളും കൂടി സമാഹരിച്ചു।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral and social responsibility that follows war: beyond victory or defeat, one must face the tangible wreckage—broken lives and broken instruments of violence—and undertake orderly, compassionate actions (such as disposal and rites) to restore dignity and stability.
In the Stree Parva’s lament-filled aftermath, the narrator describes the gathering of battlefield remnants—wood for pyres, accumulated materials, and the crushed chariots, horses, and scattered weapons—setting the scene for the grim tasks that follow the Kurukṣetra slaughter.