Shloka 23
कृष्णेन अर्जुनस्य प्रोत्साहनम् — Kṛṣṇa’s Exhortation to Arjuna
Prelude to Karṇa’s Slaying
नरास्तु निहता भूमौ कूजन्तस्तत्र मारिष | दृष्टवा च बान्धवानन्ये पितृनन्ये पितामहान्
narāstu nihatā bhūmau kūjantastatra māriṣa | dṛṣṭvā ca bāndhavān anye pitṝn anye pitāmahān |
Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai yang mulia, di medan perang itu, ramai manusia yang ditumpaskan dan terbaring di bumi, merintih dalam kesakitan. Ada yang melihat kaum kerabatnya lalu mengerang kuat; yang lain, apabila memandang ayah dan datuknya, mula berkata-kata dengan suara terputus-putus dan tidak jelas.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical cost of war: even amid martial duty, the sight of one’s own relatives—fathers and grandfathers—turns victory into grief, revealing the fragility of human life and the moral weight borne by those who fight.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield aftermath: wounded and fallen men lie on the ground crying out; recognizing their own family members among the casualties, they groan and speak faintly in broken voices.