Shloka 37
Bhīmasena’s Kalinga Engagement and the Approach of Bhīṣma (भीमसेन-कालिङ्ग-संग्रामः)
विकीर्णानन्त्रा: सुबहवो भग्नसक्थाश्न भारत
sañjaya uvāca | vikīrṇāntrāḥ subahavo bhagnasakthāś ca bhārata | bāhucchinnāś ca bahavaḥ sphuṭitāḥ parśukāś ca ha | tṛṣārditā vraṇino jīvitāśāṃs tyaktum aśaknuvantaḥ krandamānā dṛśyante sma ||
Sañjaya said: “O Bhārata, many lay with their entrails spilled and scattered; many had their thighs shattered; many had their arms severed; many had their ribs split. Wounded and tormented by thirst, clinging to the hope of life, they were seen crying out—an image of war’s cruelty and the tragic attachment that persists even amid righteous conflict.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the brutal reality of war and the ethical tension within dharma-yuddha: even when a conflict is framed as righteous, its human cost is immense. It also highlights how attachment to life (jīvitāśā) persists amid extreme suffering, inviting reflection on compassion and detachment.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the battlefield aftermath: numerous warriors lie grievously mutilated—entrails scattered, limbs broken or severed, ribs split—while the wounded, parched with thirst, cry out as they cling to the hope of survival.