Shloka 54
आसुरीव पुरा सेना शक्रस्येव पराक्रमै: । “भयंकर पराक्रमी पार्थ! रणभूमिमें विध्वंसको प्राप्त हुई यह कौरव-सेना पूर्वकालमें इन्द्रके पराक्रमसे नष्ट हुई असुरोंकी सेनाके समान प्रतीत होती है ।। ५३ ई ।। तेषां हतावशिष्टास्तु सन्ति पठच महारथा:
āsurīva purā senā śakrasy eva parākramaiḥ | bhayaṅkara-parākramī pārtha! raṇabhūmau vidhvaṁsaṁ prāptā iyaṁ kaurava-senā pūrvakāle indrasya parākramena naṣṭā asurāṇāṁ senā-sadṛśī pratibhāti | teṣāṁ hatāvaśiṣṭās tu santi pañca mahārathāḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai Pārtha yang menggerunkan keperkasaannya! Angkatan Kaurava ini, yang kini dibinasakan di medan perang, tampak seperti bala tentera Asura yang pada zaman silam dimusnahkan oleh kedahsyatan Indra. Namun demikian, daripada mereka masih tinggal lima mahāratha, terselamat di tengah-tengah yang terbunuh.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames battlefield collapse through a moral-cosmic analogy: overwhelming, righteous or divinely sanctioned prowess can shatter even a vast host, as Indra once destroyed the Asuras. It underscores the inevitability of consequences in war and the fragility of power when opposed by superior valor and destiny.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, addressing Arjuna as ‘Pārtha,’ that the Kaurava army has been devastated on the battlefield, resembling the ancient Asura host destroyed by Indra. Despite the slaughter, he notes that five great chariot-warriors still survive among the Kauravas.