Shloka 30
Nakula’s Engagement with Citra-sena and Karṇa’s Sons; Śalya Re-stabilizes the Kaurava Host
भुजनक्रा धनु:स्रोता हस्तिशैला हयोपला । मेदोमज्जाकर्दमिनी छत्रहंसा गदोडुपा
bhujanakrā dhanuḥsrotā hastiśailā hayopalā | medomajjākardaminī chatrahaṃsā gadodupā ||
اس ندی میں کٹی ہوئی بازو مگرمچھ تھے، کمانیں اس کی دھارائیں؛ ہاتھی کناروں کے پہاڑ اور گھوڑے پتھریلے ٹکڑے۔ چربی اور گودا اس کی کیچڑ تھی، چھتر اس کے ہنس، اور گدائیں اس کی کشتیاں تھیں۔
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses an extended metaphor—a river made of blood and battlefield debris—to convey the terrifying moral cost of war. Even when war is fought under the banner of duty, its reality is dehumanizing and destructive, reminding the listener to see beyond victory to the suffering and karmic weight of violence.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the scene of the Kurukṣetra battle: slaughter has become so intense that it is poetically described as a blood-river, with weapons, bodies, and royal insignia appearing as features of a river—streams, banks, mud, swans, and boats.