Shloka 806
युधिष्ठिरस्य धनंजय-प्रति गर्हा
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Reproach to Dhanaṃjaya
मुष्टियुद्धे नियुद्धं च देहपाप्मासुनाशनम् । दोनों दलोंके सैनिक एक-दूसरेके केश पकड़कर खींचते, दाँतोंसे काटते, नखोंसे बखोटते, मुक्कोंसे मारते और परस्पर मल्लयुद्ध करने लगते थे। इस प्रकार वह युद्ध सैनिकोंके शरीर, प्राण और पापोंका विनाश करनेवाला हो रहा था
sañjaya uvāca |
muṣṭiyuddhe niyuddhaṃ ca dehapāpmāsunāśanam |
Wika ni Sañjaya: “Sa sagupaan ng mga kamao at sa dikit-dikit na pagkapit, ang labanan ay naging tagapagwasak ng katawan, ng hininga ng buhay, at ng kasalanan. Ang mga kawal ng magkabilang hukbo’y nagkakabuhol sa buhok, nagkakagatan, nagkakakalmot, nagsusuntukan, at nagbubuno na parang mga mambubuno. Kaya ang digmaan ay nagngangalit na tila isang mabagsik na ‘tagapaglinis’—nilalamon ang lakas at buhay, at, ayon sa dangal ng mandirigma, sinusunog ang naipong kasamaan sa marahas na pagsubok.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames extreme hand-to-hand violence as simultaneously destructive and, within the epic’s warrior worldview, expiatory: battle annihilates the body and life, yet is also portrayed as capable of ‘burning away’ sin through the harsh ordeal of combat and death.
Sañjaya describes the fighting degenerating into brutal close-quarters brawling—hair-pulling, biting, scratching, and punching—so that the battlefield resembles a mass wrestling match, emphasizing the ferocity and intimacy of the slaughter.