Shloka 13
Kuru-Sainika-Āśvāsana and Vijayaghoṣaṇa
Reassuring the Kuru Soldiers; Proclaiming Victory
शिरसां पात्यमानानामन्तरा निशितै: शरै: । अशभ्मवृष्टिरिवाकाशादभवद् भरतर्षभ
śirasāṁ pātyamānānām antarā niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ | aśmavṛṣṭir ivākāśād abhavad bharatarṣabha ||
Disse Vaiśampāyana: “Ó touro entre os Bhāratas, as fileiras de cabeças de guerreiros, decepadas em pleno cair por flechas afiadas, pareciam uma chuva de pedras a desabar do céu.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is primarily descriptive rather than prescriptive: it underscores the terrifying power of weapons and the fragility of embodied life in war, implicitly warning that martial glory is inseparable from grievous destruction.
In the midst of battle, sharp arrows cut down warriors so violently that their severed heads fall in lines; the narrator compares this sight to a rain of stones falling from the sky.