Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 52
Śalya–Bhīma Gadā-saṃnipāta and Śalya’s Bāṇa-jāla against Yudhiṣṭhira
Book 9, Chapter 11
चन्दनागुरुपड्काक्तां प्रमदामीप्सितामिव । वसामेदोपदिग्धाज़ीं जिह्दां वैवस्चतीमिव
candana-aguru-paṅkāktāṃ pramadām īpsitām iva | vasā-medo-padigdhāṃ jīhvāṃ vaivasvatīm iva ||
চন্দন ও অগুরুর লেপে সুশোভিত কাম্য প্রেয়সীর মতোই সে যেন মনে হচ্ছিল; কিন্তু প্রকৃতপক্ষে তার অঙ্গপ্রত্যঙ্গ চর্বি ও মজ্জায় লেপিত—আর দর্শনে তা বৈবস্বত যমের জিহ্বার ন্যায় ভয়ংকর ছিল।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical revulsion of war through stark contrast: the language of adornment (sandal, aloe, beloved woman) is inverted to reveal the reality of bloodshed (fat and marrow), reminding the listener that violence corrupts even what appears splendid.
Sañjaya is describing a terrifying sight on the battlefield—something (contextually a fearsome weapon or object) coated with bodily substances—using powerful similes: outwardly like a perfumed beloved, but truly dreadful like Yama’s tongue, emphasizing the scene’s deathly menace.
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