Mahabharata 7.49.28 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 49, Shloka 28
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 49: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament and Strategic Foreboding after Abhimanyu’s Fall
वाजिभिश्षापि निर्जीवै: श्वसद्धि: शोणितो क्षितै: । सारोहैरविषमा भूमि: सौभद्रेण निपातितैः
vājibhiḥ śāpī nirjīvaiḥ śvasadbhiḥ śoṇito kṣitaiḥ | sārohāir aviṣamā bhūmiḥ saubhadreṇa nipātitaiḥ ||
Sañjaya disse: O chão tornara-se irregular e difícil de atravessar—atulhado de cavalos, alguns já sem vida e outros ainda ofegantes, encharcados de sangue, e de cavaleiros caídos—abatidos por Saubhadra (Abhimanyu). A cena ressalta o custo sombrio da batalha: valor e dever no campo são inseparáveis do sofrimento e do peso ético da violência.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when war is framed as dharma-yuddha, its reality is brutal: the verse forces attention to the tangible suffering—gasping animals, fallen riders, blood-soaked earth—inviting ethical reflection on the human and non-human cost of violence.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield after Abhimanyu’s assault: horses and their riders have been cut down, some horses dead and some still breathing, and the ground has become uneven and difficult to cross because of the bodies and blood.
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