Shloka 50
Adhyāya 18 — Sequential Duels and Formation Pressure
Ulūka–Yuyutsu; Śakuni–Sutasoma; Kṛpa–Dhṛṣṭadyumna; Kṛtavarmā–Śikhaṇḍin
कुमुदोत्पलपद्मानां खण्डै: फुल्लं यथा सर:
kumudotpalapadmānāṃ khaṇḍaiḥ phullaṃ yathā saraḥ
Sañjaya sprach: „Wie ein See, der ganz bedeckt erscheint—als blühte seine Oberfläche—wenn er mit zerbrochenen Stücken von Kumuda-, Utpala- und Lotosblüten bestreut ist.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a serene natural image to intensify the moral shock of violence: what looks like “blooming beauty” can in fact be the result of breaking and scattering—an implicit reminder that appearances in war can mask ruin and suffering.
Sañjaya describes a scene through a simile: a lake’s surface seems fully blossomed because it is covered with scattered fragments of water-flowers, preparing the listener to visualize a battlefield scene similarly covered with broken, strewn elements.