Shloka 1143
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
उदतिष्ठन् कबन्धानि बहुन्युत्थाय चापतन् । सहसौरों मनुष्य मारे जाकर पृथ्वीपर पड़े थे। उनमेंसे बहुतेरे कबन्ध (धड़) उठकर खड़े हो जाते और पुनः गिर पड़ते थे
udatiṣṭhan kabandhāni bahūny utthāya cāpatan |
सञ्जय उवाच— बहूनि कबन्धान्युदतिष्ठन्, उत्थाय च पुनरपातन्। सहस्रशो मनुष्येषु हतेषु पृथिव्यां निपतितेषु, तेषां बहवः कबन्धाः समुत्थाय पुनः पतन्ति स्म।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the gruesome consequences of unchecked violence: war does not yield true victory but leaves devastation and fear. It implicitly warns that adharma-driven slaughter dehumanizes all involved and produces only suffering.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene after the night massacre: numerous severed torsos (kabandhas) appear to rise and then collapse again, conveying the terrifying, chaotic aftermath among the heaps of the dead.