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 ।।
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 disse: “Ó Pārtha de terrível poder! Este exército dos Kaurava, agora reduzido à ruína no campo de batalha, parece o exército dos Asuras que, em tempos antigos, foi destruído pela força de Indra. Ainda assim, dentre eles restam cinco grandes guerreiros de carro, sobrevivendo entre os mortos.”
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.