Shloka 54
आसुरीव पुरा सेना शक्रस्येव पराक्रमै: । “भयंकर पराक्रमी पार्थ! रणभूमिमें विध्वंसको प्राप्त हुई यह कौरव-सेना पूर्वकालमें इन्द्रके पराक्रमसे नष्ट हुई असुरोंकी सेनाके समान प्रतीत होती है ।।
āsurīva purā senā śakrasy eva parākramaiḥ | bhayaṅkara-parākramī pārtha! raṇabhūmau vidhvaṁsaṁ prāptā iyaṁ kaurava-senā pūrvakāle indrasya parākramena naṣṭā asurāṇāṁ senā-sadṛśī pratibhāti | teṣāṁ hatāvaśiṣṭās tu santi pañca mahārathāḥ ||
Sañjaya nói: “Hỡi Pārtha, bậc dũng lực đáng sợ! Đạo quân Kaurava này, nay bị đưa đến chỗ diệt vong trên chiến địa, trông như đạo binh Asura thuở xưa bị Indra tiêu diệt bằng uy lực của ngài. Tuy vậy, trong số họ vẫn còn năm đại xa chiến còn sống, đứng giữa muôn xác chết.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames battlefield collapse through a moral-cosmic analogy: overwhelming, righteous or divinely sanctioned prowess can shatter even a vast host, as Indra once destroyed the Asuras. It underscores the inevitability of consequences in war and the fragility of power when opposed by superior valor and destiny.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, addressing Arjuna as ‘Pārtha,’ that the Kaurava army has been devastated on the battlefield, resembling the ancient Asura host destroyed by Indra. Despite the slaughter, he notes that five great chariot-warriors still survive among the Kauravas.