Shloka 43
Chapter 89: Bhīma dispatched to protect Ghaṭotkaca amid escalating engagements
प्रावर्तत नदी घोरा शोणितौघतरड्रिणी । गोमायुगणसंकीर्णा क्षणेन क्षणदामुखे
sañjaya uvāca | prāvartata nadī ghorā śoṇitaughataradriṇī | gomāyugaṇasaṅkīrṇā kṣaṇena kṣaṇadāmukhe ||
प्रावर्तत नदी घोरा शोणितौघतरङ्गिणी । गोमायुगणसंकीर्णा क्षणेन क्षणदामुखे ॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as an ethical warning through imagery: unchecked violence in war produces consequences so extreme that nature itself appears inverted—blood becomes a river and scavengers gather. It underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring theme that adharma and loss of restraint in conflict invite ruin and ominous signs.
Sanjaya reports a terrifying battlefield omen: as fighting intensifies, a ‘river’ of blood seems to surge forth, and jackals crowd the banks. The description heightens the horror of the battle and foreshadows further destruction.