Shloka 34
Yuddha-yajña-vyākhyāna (The Battle as Sacrifice): Ambarīṣa–Indra Saṃvāda
शोणितोदा सुसम्पूर्णा दुस्तरा पारगैनरि: । हतनागमहानक्रा परलोकवहाशिवा
śoṇitodā susampūrṇā dustarā pāragair nṛbhiḥ | hatanāga-mahānakrā paralokavahā śivā ||
Ambarīṣa disse: “Esse rio, cujas águas são sangue, está completamente cheio e é difícil de atravessar, mesmo para quem conhece o vau. Está infestado de grandes crocodilos e coalhado de elefantes abatidos; leva os seres ao outro mundo — e, no entanto (em sua função sombria), é chamado ‘auspicioso’.”
अम्बरीष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses stark battlefield/otherworld imagery to underline the moral gravity of violence and death: actions can sweep beings toward the afterlife like an overflowing, perilous river. Calling it ‘śivā’ highlights a paradox—death can be ‘auspicious’ only in the sense that it delivers the inevitable fruit of karma and leads the soul onward, urging ethical restraint and dharmic conduct.
Ambarīṣa describes a terrifying river—filled with blood, crowded with crocodiles, and marked by slain elephants—portraying an almost infernal crossing associated with death and the passage to the next world. The description functions as a warning and a moral illustration within the reflective, didactic tone of Śānti Parva.