Shloka 5
अध्याय २९: कर्णस्य शल्यं प्रति शापस्मरणं च युद्धनिश्चयः | Chapter 29: Karṇa recalls curses to Śalya and declares resolve for battle
परिघमुसलशक्तितोमरै- नखरभुशुण्डिगदाशतैहता: । द्विरदनरहया: सहस्रशो रुधिरनदीप्रवहास्तदाभवन्
sañjaya uvāca | parigha-muśala-śakti-tomarair nakhara-bhuśuṇḍi-gadā-śatair hatāḥ | dvirada-nara-hayāḥ sahasraśo rudhira-nadī-pravahās tadābhavan ||
三阇耶说道：随后，在铁棍、杵（mūsala）、长枪（śakti）、投枪（tomara）、如爪之兵、布舒ṇḍī与钉头槌（gadā）等百百击打之下，成千上万的象、人与马纷纷倒毙——战场仿佛倾泻出一道道血流，如同血河奔涌。此偈凸显战争的道德重负：当达摩崩塌而化为失控的暴力，胜利便以巨大而不分彼此的苦难为代价。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a stark ethical reminder: warfare, even when framed as kṣatriya-duty, unleashes vast suffering that can overwhelm any claim of glory. By depicting 'rivers of blood,' the text presses the listener to recognize the human (and animal) cost when conflict escalates beyond restraint and dharma is strained.
Sañjaya reports the intensity of the fighting: countless elephants, warriors, and horses are cut down by repeated strikes from multiple kinds of weapons, and the slaughter is so great that blood is imagined as flowing like rivers across the battlefield.