Shloka 13
कर्ण और अर्जुनके हाथोंसे छूटे हुए बाण हाथी, घोड़े और मनुष्योंके शरीरोंको विदीर्ण करके उनके प्राण निकालकर तुरंत पृथ्वीमें घुस गये थे, मानो अत्यन्त लाल रंगके विशाल सर्प अपनी बिलमें जा घुसे हों ।।
hatair manuṣyāśvagajaiś ca saṅkhye śarāpaviddhaiś ca rathaiḥ narendra | dhanañjayasya adhirathasya mārgaṇair agamyarūpā vasudhā babhūva, narendra ||
Wika ni Śalya: “O hari, sa labang ito’y naging di-malampasan ang lupa. Nakahandusay ang mga tao, kabayo, at elepante na pinaslang; at ang mga karwaheng winasak ng mga palaso’y gumuho nang nagkapatong-patong. Ang mga palasong pinakawalan ni Dhanañjaya (Arjuna) at ni Karṇa, ang dakilang mandirigmang-karwahe, ay tumatagos sa katawan, kumukuha ng buhay, at saka dumudungaw sa lupa—na parang malalaking pulang ahas na sumusuot sa kanilang lungga.”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral weight of war: even when fought under kṣatriya duty, its immediate fruit is devastation—life is cut down, and the very earth becomes clogged with the results. It invites reflection on how ‘victory’ is inseparable from suffering and loss.
Śalya describes the battlefield after intense archery between Arjuna and Karṇa: arrows pierce and kill men, horses, and elephants, then sink into the ground; broken chariots and corpses make the terrain impassable.