Shloka 40
रणभूमिवर्णनम् — Devāsuropama-yuddha and the ‘River’ Metaphor of the Battlefield
रथानां षघट्सहस्राणि षघट्सहस्राश्ष॒ कुज्जरा:,भारत! उस युद्धमें पाण्डवोंके पास छः: हजार रथ, छ: हजार हाथी, दस हजार घोड़े और दो करोड़ पैदल--इतनी सेना शेष थी
sañjaya uvāca | rathānāṃ ṣaṭ-sahasrāṇi ṣaṭ-sahasrāś ca kuñjarāḥ, bhārata | daśa-sahasrāṇi aśvānāṃ ca dvau koṭyau padātīnām—etāvat senā-śeṣaḥ pāṇḍavānām asmin yuddhe āsīt ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai Bhārata, dalam pertempuran ini pihak Pāṇḍava masih berbaki enam ribu kereta perang, enam ribu gajah, sepuluh ribu kuda, dan dua koṭi askar pejalan kaki.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse offers no direct moral injunction; its ethical force lies in showing how war reduces dharma to grim accounting—victory and survival are measured in remaining lives and matériel, reminding the listener that adharma-driven conflict culminates in vast, impersonal loss.
Sañjaya continues his battlefield narration to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, stating the strength still left with the Pāṇḍavas—counts of chariots, elephants, horses, and infantry—framing the ongoing scale of the conflict in the Śalya Parva.