Shloka 3
Kurukṣetra-anudarśanam — Rāma-hradāḥ and the Question of Kṣatra Continuity (शान्ति पर्व, अध्याय ४८)
तेडवतीर्य कुरुक्षेत्र केशमज्जास्थिसंकुलम् | देहन्यास: कृतो यत्र क्षत्रियैस्तैर्महात्मभि:
teḍavatīrya kurukṣetre keśamajjāsthi-saṅkule | deha-nyāsaḥ kṛto yatra kṣatriyais tair mahātmabhiḥ ||
毗湿摩波耶那说道：“随后他们踏入俱卢之野，那地方塞满了头发、骨髓与白骨——正是那些大心的刹帝利勇士舍弃身躯之处。此景唤起战争的道德重负：英雄的决断，以及当达摩在暴力中被争夺时所付出的可怖代价。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical gravity of warfare: even when framed as kṣatriya-dharma, battle culminates in mass death. Remembering the physical devastation (bones, marrow, hair) forces reflection on responsibility, the limits of violence, and the cost paid by those who 'lay down the body.'
The narrator describes the characters arriving at Kurukṣetra after the great war, portraying the battlefield as strewn with human remains. It situates the listener in the stark aftermath, preparing for Shānti Parva’s reflective discourse on dharma, governance, and moral repair.