Shloka 316
लक्ष॑ नरद्विपान् हत्वा समेतान् समहाबलान् | “वे एक-एक मुट्ठी बाणसे ही युद्धस्थलमें एकत्र हुए लाखों महाबली पैदल मनुष्यों और हाथियोंका संहार करके सहस्रों रथियोंको मार सकते थे
lakṣaṁ naradvipān hatvā sametān samahābalān |
Sañjaya disse: Tendo abatido cem mil homens e elefantes reunidos—todos de grande vigor—(tal era o poder naquela batalha que) com apenas um punhado de flechas podiam derrubar massas ajuntadas no campo. O verso ressalta a escala aterradora de destruição que a força marcial, sem freio, pode desencadear na guerra, onde o valor facilmente se converte em morticínio.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the catastrophic consequences of war: extraordinary martial prowess can rapidly become mass killing. It implicitly invites reflection on restraint, responsibility, and the moral weight borne by warriors and rulers when violence escalates beyond measure.
Sañjaya is reporting battlefield events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describing immense slaughter—hundreds of thousands of men and elephants—emphasizing how concentrated and overwhelming the combatants’ power is in this phase of the Kurukṣetra war.