Shloka 23
वर्मभिश्व तथानीकैव्यवरकीर्णा वसुंधरा । वहाँ चूर-चूर हुए चक्कों, टूटे हुए उत्तमोत्तम आयुधों, टूक-टूक हुए धुरों, खण्डित हुए ईषादण्डों और बन्धुरों, मथे गये हाथियों, तोड़कर गिराये हुए ध्वजों, छिन्न-भिन्न कवचों और विनष्ट हुए सैनिकोंकी लाशोंसे वहाँकी पृथ्वी पट गयी थी || २१-२२ ह ।।
varmabhiś ca tathānīkaiḥ vyavakīrṇā vasuṃdharā | tatra cūrṇa-cūrṇīkṛtaiḥ cakraiḥ, ṭuṭitaiḥ uttamottamaiḥ āyudhaiḥ, ṭūkī-kṛtaiḥ dhuraiḥ, khaṇḍitaiḥ īṣādaṇḍaiḥ ca bandhuraiḥ, mathitaiḥ hastibhiḥ, bhittvā pātitaiḥ dhvajaiḥ, chinna-bhinnaiḥ kavacaiḥ ca vinaṣṭa-sainika-śavair tatra pṛthivī paṭitā iva babhūva || sragbhir ābharaṇaiḥ vastraiḥ anukarṣaiḥ ca, māriṣa ||
三阇耶说道：那里的大地遍布甲胄，阵列亦四散零落。那片土地仿佛被战争的残骸铺成地毯——车轮碎成片片，最精良的兵器折断，轭具崩裂，辕杆与连接件尽皆粉碎；战象在冲撞中被碾压撕裂；旗幡被扯落抛弃；胸甲破碎成缕；阵亡士卒的尸身覆满其上。这是一幅冷峻的图景，显出战争的道德代价：勇力与骄矜同归于败坏，而当达摩以兵刃相争时，战场本身便成为毁灭的见证。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the impermanence of martial glory and the ethical weight of war: even the finest weapons, armour, and proud standards end as debris, while the earth is covered with the fallen. It invites reflection on how conflict—though framed within kṣatriya-duty—inevitably produces suffering and ruin.
Sanjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra a vivid scene from the battlefield: the ground is littered with shattered chariot parts, broken weapons, torn armour, toppled banners, mangled elephants, and the bodies of slain soldiers—an image of the battle’s intensity and aftermath.