Shloka 853
सस्नुस्तस्यां पपुश्नास्यां मम्लुश्न भरतर्षभ । उन सबके शरीर रक्तसे रँग गये थे। कवच, आयुध और वस्त्र भी रक्तरंजित हो गये थे। भरतश्रेष्ठ कितने ही योद्धा उसमें नहा लेते, कितनोंके मुहमें रक्तकी घूँट चली जाती और कितने ही ग्लानिसे भर जाते थे
sa-snusta-stasyāṃ papuśnās-yāṃ mamluśna bharatarṣabha |
Санджая сказал: «О бык среди Бхарат, они купались в том потоке и даже пили из него; их тела были запятнаны кровью. Доспехи, оружие и одежды тоже стали багряными. Многие воины омывались там, многие, не заметив, проглатывали глотки крови, и многих одолевали изнеможение и дурнота».
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical cost of war: even when fought under kṣatriya duty, battle produces pervasive suffering and moral shock—so intense that basic acts like bathing and drinking become entangled with blood and exhaustion, reminding the listener of the tragic consequences of adharma-driven conflict.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the battlefield waters were so mixed with blood that warriors bathed in them and inadvertently drank blood; their bodies, armor, weapons, and clothes were stained red, and many fighters became weak and faint from fatigue.