Shloka 5
अध्याय २९: कर्णस्य शल्यं प्रति शापस्मरणं च युद्धनिश्चयः | Chapter 29: Karṇa recalls curses to Śalya and declares resolve for battle
परिघमुसलशक्तितोमरै- नखरभुशुण्डिगदाशतैहता: । द्विरदनरहया: सहस्रशो रुधिरनदीप्रवहास्तदाभवन्
sañjaya uvāca | parigha-muśala-śakti-tomarair nakhara-bhuśuṇḍi-gadā-śatair hatāḥ | dvirada-nara-hayāḥ sahasraśo rudhira-nadī-pravahās tadābhavan ||
Sañjaya berkata: Kemudian, setelah dihentam ratusan kali oleh belantan besi, alu (mūsala), lembing (śakti), tombak lontar (tomara), senjata seperti cakar, bhuśuṇḍī, dan gada, ribuan demi ribuan gajah, manusia, dan kuda rebah—hingga medan perang seakan memancarkan aliran seperti sungai-sungai darah. Rangkap ini menegaskan beban moral peperangan: apabila dharma runtuh menjadi keganasan yang tidak terkawal, kemenangan dibayar dengan penderitaan yang amat besar dan membuta-tuli.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a stark ethical reminder: warfare, even when framed as kṣatriya-duty, unleashes vast suffering that can overwhelm any claim of glory. By depicting 'rivers of blood,' the text presses the listener to recognize the human (and animal) cost when conflict escalates beyond restraint and dharma is strained.
Sañjaya reports the intensity of the fighting: countless elephants, warriors, and horses are cut down by repeated strikes from multiple kinds of weapons, and the slaughter is so great that blood is imagined as flowing like rivers across the battlefield.