Shloka 34
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५७
Arjuna’s targeted advance; Śalya–Karṇa dialogue; interception attempts
सजीवांश्वापरान् पश्य कूजमानान् समन्ततः
sañjaya uvāca | sajīvān aśvān aparān paśya kūjamānān samantataḥ | prajā-pālaka arjuna |
Sañjaya nói: “Hỡi Arjuna, đấng hộ dân, hãy nhìn những con ngựa khác vẫn còn hơi thở—đang rên rỉ khắp bốn bề. Bên cạnh chúng, nhiều người hầu và thân quyến đã buông vũ khí, ngồi sát lại, rồi khóc than hết lần này đến lần khác.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the moral cost of war: suffering extends beyond warriors to animals and dependents, and even those not actively fighting are driven to grief and helplessness. It implicitly urges a ruler-protector (prajā-pālaka) to recognize the wider circle of harm and the duty of compassion amid kṣatriya action.
Sañjaya addresses Arjuna and directs his attention to other horses on the battlefield that are still alive but crying out in pain. Their attendants/companions have abandoned weapons and sit near them, repeatedly lamenting—an image of the battlefield’s aftermath and the breakdown of martial posture into mourning.