Shloka 73
दुःशासन-सहदेव-संक्षोभः; भीम-राधेय-गदायुद्धम्; द्रोण-पार्थ-अस्त्रसंग्रामः
Duhshasana–Sahadeva Clash; Bhima–Karna Mace Exchange; Drona–Arjuna Astra Duel
रराज वसुधा55कीर्णा विसर्पद्धिरिवोरगै: । हाथियोंके शुण्डदण्ड कटकर इधर-उधर तड़पते हुए ऐसे प्रतीत हो रहे थे, मानो सर्प चल रहे हों। उनके द्वारा आच्छादित हुई वहाँकी भूमि अद्भुत शोभा पा रही थी
rarāja vasudhā kīrṇā visarpadbhir ivoragaiḥ |
रराज वसुधा कीर्णा विसर्पद्भिरिवोरगैः । छिन्नैः करशुण्डदण्डैः सर्वतो विक्षिप्तैः सर्पैरिव चलद्भिरभवत् तत्र भूमेः विचित्रा शोभा ॥
संयज उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a vivid simile—severed elephant-trunks resembling crawling serpents—to highlight the horrifying reality of battle. It implicitly presses an ethical reflection: even when war is framed as dharma-yuddha, its visible fruits are suffering and destruction, demanding moral seriousness and restraint.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene: the ground is covered with cut-off elephant trunks that twitch and writhe, making the earth appear strangely ‘beautiful’ in a terrible way, like it is filled with moving snakes.