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Shloka 44

Bhīmasena’s Kalinga Engagement and the Approach of Bhīṣma (भीमसेन-कालिङ्ग-संग्रामः)

निष्कूजा: समपद्यन्त दृढसत्त्वा महाबला: । धैर्यको दृढ़तापूर्वक धारण किये रहनेवाले दूसरे महाबली वीर बाणोंके आघातसे पीड़ित हो क्लेश सहन करते हुए भी मौन ही रहते थे--अपनी वेदना प्रकाशित नहीं करते थे ।।

sañjaya uvāca | niṣkūjāḥ samapadyanta dṛḍhasattvā mahābalāḥ | anye ca virathāḥ śūrā ratham anyasya saṃyuge mahārāja |

قال سنجيا: إنّ المحاربين العظام، ذوي العزم الراسخ، كانوا يتحمّلون الضربات في صمت؛ فلا يصرخون حتى إذا أصابتهم السهام، ولا يُظهرون ما بهم من ألم. وآخرون—من الشجعان الذين تحطّمت مركباتهم—سقطوا على الأرض في خضمّ القتال يستغيثون طالبين مركبةً أخرى؛ غير أنّ أقدام الفيلة العظام سحقتهم قبل أن يُنقَذوا. وكانت أجسادهم الملطّخة بالدم، المتورّمة الممزّقة، تبدو كأزهار البالاشا (palāśa) المتفتّحة—صورةٌ تجمع بين بهاءٍ موحش ورعب الحرب.

निष्कूजाःsilent, not crying out
निष्कूजाः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootनिष्कूज
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
समपद्यन्तthey remained/they endured (came to a state)
समपद्यन्त:
TypeVerb
Rootसम् + पद्
FormImperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada
दृढसत्त्वाःof firm courage/resolve
दृढसत्त्वाः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootदृढसत्त्व
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
महाबलाःvery mighty
महाबलाः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootमहाबल
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural

संजय उवाच

S
Sañjaya
D
Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'mahārāja')
W
warriors (śūrāḥ)
C
chariot (ratha)
E
elephants (gaja)
P
palāśa (flower/tree)

Educational Q&A

The passage highlights endurance and restraint under suffering as a warriorly virtue, while simultaneously exposing the brutal, indiscriminate destruction of war—suggesting that even dutiful courage (kṣatriya-dharma) unfolds within a tragic moral landscape.

Sañjaya describes the battlefield: some powerful fighters bear arrow-wounds without crying out, while others whose chariots are destroyed fall and seek another chariot but are trampled by elephants; their bloodied bodies are compared to palāśa blossoms.