Shloka 5
Kurukṣetra-anudarśanam — Rāma-hradāḥ and the Question of Kṣatra Continuity (शान्ति पर्व, अध्याय ४८)
चितासहस्प्रचितं वर्मशस्त्रसमाकुलम् । आपानभूमिं कालस्य तथा भुक्तोज्झितामिव
citāsahasrapracitaṁ varmaśastrasamākulam | āpānabhūmiṁ kālasya tathā bhuktojjhitām iva ||
毗湿摩波耶那说道：“大地堆满了成千上万的火葬柴堆，又被甲胄与兵刃塞得密不透风。入目之下，仿佛那正是时间（死神）的宴席之地——好像迦罗（Kāla）在那里饱餐一顿，随后把阴森的残渣抛撒满地。此象将战后的荒凉化作道德的警策：暴力终将把人的骄矜与权势，化为迦罗不可逃避之前的弃物。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses stark imagery to teach that war’s glory collapses into ruin under Kāla: weapons and armor become meaningless debris, and mass death turns the earth into a place of consumption for Time. It supports the Śānti-parvan’s ethical turn toward restraint, reflection, and dispassion after violence.
Vaiśampāyana describes a devastated ground covered with countless funeral pyres and littered with armor and weapons. The scene is likened to the dining-ground of Kāla, as if Death has ‘eaten’ there and left the leftovers—an evocative portrayal of the post-battle landscape.