Shloka 12
कृष्णेन अर्जुनस्य प्रोत्साहनम् — Kṛṣṇa’s Exhortation to Arjuna
Prelude to Karṇa’s Slaying
निष्काणामथ शूराणां शरीराणां च धन्विनाम् | चर्मणां सपताकानां संघास्तत्रापतन् भुवि,भारत! वहाँ भूतलपर कटे हुए मस्तकों, भुजाओं, जाँघों, बड़े-बड़े कुण्डलों, अन्यान्य आभूषणों, निष्कों, धनुर्धर शूरवीरोंके शरीरों, ढालों और पताकाओंके ढेर-के-ढेर पड़े थे
niṣkāṇām atha śūrāṇāṁ śarīrāṇāṁ ca dhanvinām | carmaṇāṁ sapatākānāṁ saṅghās tatrāpatann bhuvi, bhārata |
Disse Sañjaya: Ó Bhārata, ali no chão caíam montes sobre montes—cabeças decepadas, braços e coxas; grandes brincos e outros ornamentos; placas de ouro ao pescoço (niṣkas); os corpos de heróis que empunhavam o arco; e pilhas de escudos e estandartes. A cena desnuda o terrível custo da guerra: tanto o valor quanto o adorno são reduzidos a restos sem vida, advertindo como a violência despoja a dignidade e todo esplendor mundano.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grim reality and moral weight of war: even heroic bodies and symbols of honor (ornaments, banners) become mere debris. It implicitly cautions against attachment to worldly splendor and highlights the human cost that accompanies kṣatriya warfare.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra what he ‘sees’ on the battlefield: heaps of severed limbs and heads, fallen ornaments, and the bodies of archers, along with piles of shields and banners scattered on the earth after intense fighting.