Shloka 43
कर्ण-पाण्डव-संमर्दः — Karṇa and Arjuna’s Intensified Engagement
मनुष्याश्वगजानां च शरीरैर्गतजीवितै: । क्षणेन भूमि: संजज्ञे संवृता भरतर्षभ
manuṣyāśvagajānāṁ ca śarīrair gatajīvitaiḥ | kṣaṇena bhūmiḥ saṁjajñe saṁvṛtā bharatarṣabha ||
Sañjaya berkata: Dalam sekelip mata, wahai banteng di antara kaum Bharata, bumi kelihatan tertutup sepenuhnya oleh jasad tidak bernyawa manusia, kuda dan gajah.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the rapid and totalizing destruction caused by war: life is fragile, and violence swiftly turns living beings into lifeless bodies. Ethically, it presses the listener to confront the human and ecological cost of conflict, beyond victory or defeat.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the battlefield has, in an instant, become covered with corpses—humans along with cavalry and war-elephants—conveying the intensity of the fighting and the scale of slaughter.