Shloka 366
Bhīmasena’s Kalinga Engagement and the Approach of Bhīṣma (भीमसेन-कालिङ्ग-संग्रामः)
मातुलान् भागिनेयांश्व॒ परानपि च संयुगे । राजन! रणभूमिमें जहाँ-तहाँ गिरे हुए अगणित मनुष्य अपने कुट॒म्बीजनोंको पुकार रहे थे। कुछ बेटोंको
mātulān bhāgineyāṃś ca parān api ca saṃyuge | rājan raṇabhūmau yatra-tatra patitā agaṇitā manuṣyāḥ sva-kutumbijanān āhvayantaḥ śokārtā vilapanti sma | kecid putrān kecid pitaram kecid bhrātṝn bandhūṃś ca kecin mātulān bhāgineyāṃś ca kecid anyān anyān nāmabhir āhūya paridevayanti sma ||
मातुलान् भागिनेयांश्च परानपि च संयुगे। राजन्, रणभूमौ पतिताः असंख्याः नराः स्वजनान् आह्वयन्ति स्म—केचित् पुत्रान्, केचित् पितॄन्, केचित् भ्रातॄन् बान्धवान्, केचित् मातुलान् भागिनेयांश्च नाम्ना नाम्ना विलपन्ति स्म॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores the ethical reality that war shatters familial bonds and produces indiscriminate suffering. Even when fought under claims of dharma, violence yields grief that spreads beyond combatants to the web of relatives—sons, fathers, brothers, uncles, and nephews—revealing the need for restraint, compassion, and sober reflection on consequences.
Sanjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra the aftermath on the battlefield: innumerable fallen men, wounded or dying, cry out the names of their relatives and lament loudly. The description paints a chaotic soundscape of personal loss amid the larger war.