Shloka 55
धृतराष्ट्र–संजय संवादः: कर्ण–घटोत्कचयोर्निशायुद्धवर्णनम्
Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Sañjaya Dialogue: Description of the Night Engagement of Karṇa and Ghaṭotkaca
महीमालिड्ग्य सर्वज्ञि: पांसुध्वस्तशिरोरुहान् । पश्य योधान् महाबाहो त्वच्छरैर्भिन्नविग्रहान्,महाबाहो! तुम्हारे बाणोंसे जिनके शरीर छिन्न-भिन्न हो रहे हैं, उन योद्धाओंकी दशा तो देखो। उनके बाल धूलमें सन गये हैं और वे अपने सम्पूर्ण अंगोंसे इस पृथ्वीका आलिंगन करके सो रहे हैं
śrīkṛṣṇa uvāca | mahīm āliṅgya sarvajñaḥ pāṃsu-dhvasta-śiroruḥān | paśya yodhān mahābāho tvac-charair bhinna-vigrahān ||
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच—महाबाहो, पश्यैतान् योधान् त्वच्छरैर्भिन्नविग्रहान्। पांसुध्वस्तशिरोरुहाः सर्वाङ्गैः पृथिवीमालिङ्ग्य शेरते स्वप्नमिव।
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Kṛṣṇa compels the warrior to confront the tangible aftermath of his own martial action. The verse highlights ethical awareness in warfare: even when fighting is framed as duty, one must not become numb to suffering or treat death as abstract.
On the battlefield, Kṛṣṇa addresses the mighty-armed hero (commonly Arjuna) and points to fallen fighters. Their bodies are pierced and broken by the hero’s arrows; dust clings to their hair as they lie on the ground, ‘embracing the earth’ like sleepers—an image that intensifies the scene’s pathos.