Shloka 6
मन्दासुभिश्वैव गतासुभिश्न नराश्ननागैश्न रथैश्व मर्दितै: । मन्दांशुभिश्चैव मही महाहवे नूनं यथा वैतरणीव भाति
mandāsubhiś caiva gatāsubhiś ca narāśvanāgaiś ca rathaiś ca marditaiḥ | mandāṃśubhiś caiva mahī mahāhave nūnaṃ yathā vaitaraṇīva bhāti ||
Wika ni Śalya: “O haring magiting, masdan—ang larangang ito’y dinurog at ginulo ng mga tao, kabayo, elepante, at mga karwahe; at nagkalat dito ang mga halos wala nang hininga at ang mga tuluyang nalagutan ng buhay. Tunay na kakila-kilabot. Sa dakilang labang ito, ang liwanag ng lupa’y kumupas; ngayo’y wari’y ang Vaitaraṇī mismo—isang tanawin ng kamatayan na nagbubunyag ng mabigat na kapalit na moral ng digmaan.”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical gravity of war: even when fought under kṣatriya norms, battle produces a landscape of suffering where the living and the dead lie together. By likening the field to the Vaitaraṇī, Śalya highlights how violence can make the world resemble a threshold of hell, urging sober reflection on the cost of conflict.
Śalya points out to the king the horrific state of the battlefield—men, horses, elephants, and chariots lie crushed; some are barely breathing while others are dead. The ground’s splendor is ‘dimmed’ by carnage, and the scene is compared to the Vaitaraṇī, emphasizing the battle’s dreadful intensity.