Shloka 24
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय २: संजयस्य दिव्यदृष्टिप्रदानम् तथा निमित्तवर्णनम्
Granting Sañjaya Divine Sight and the Description of Omens
स्वप्स्यन्ति निहता वीरा भूमिमावृत्य पार्थिवा: । राजानो राजतपूुत्रा श्च शूरा: परिघबाहव:
svapsyanti nihatā vīrā bhūmim āvṛtya pārthivāḥ | rājāno rāja-putrāś ca śūrāḥ parigha-bāhavaḥ ||
毗湿摩波耶那说道：“许多英勇的国王与王子——臂膀粗壮有力，如铁杵般的猛士——将被击倒而亡。他们的尸身覆满大地，便在战场上横卧，如同沉睡一般。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tragic outcome of war: even the strongest kings and princes end as lifeless bodies on the earth. It frames death as ‘sleep’ to stress both the inevitability of mortality and the ethical weight of choosing conflict.
Vaiśampāyana describes the impending carnage of the Kurukṣetra war: numerous heroic rulers and royal sons will be slain and will lie across the battlefield, so many that their bodies seem to cover the ground.