Shloka 126
Vāsudeva-Māhātmya: Duryodhana’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Theological Account of Keśava
शिर:कपालाकुलकेशशाद्धला शरीरसड्घातसहस््रवाहिनी । विशीर्णनानाकवचोर्मिसंकुला नराश्वनागास्थिनिकृत्तशर्करा
śiraḥkapālākulakeśaśādvalā śarīrasaṅghātasahasravāhinī | viśīrṇanānākavacormisaṅkulā narāśvanāgāsthinikṛttaśarkarā ||
三阇耶说道：“那景象宛如一条可怖之河：两岸铺成草毯的，是纠结的发与累累头骨；河中，成千上万堆尸骸如水中生灵般漂流。各色甲胄的碎片破散四处，如同波浪翻涌；而人、马、象被斩断的骨骼，则充作河中的卵石砂砾。”在这幅战场幻景里，诗篇迫使听者直面战争的道德代价——暴力把人身与勇名一并化作残屑——从而在大难之中更凸显守持达摩的伦理迫切。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is not a doctrinal instruction but an ethical shock: by portraying the battlefield as a ‘river’ made of skulls, bodies, armor, and bones, it exposes the dehumanizing aftermath of war and presses the listener to weigh action against dharma and its consequences.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, depicts the carnage of Kurukṣetra through an extended metaphor: a gruesome river whose banks and currents are formed from the slain, with armor as waves and severed bones as pebbles.