Shloka 14
कृष्णेन अर्जुनस्य प्रोत्साहनम् — Kṛṣṇa’s Exhortation to Arjuna
Prelude to Karṇa’s Slaying
रुधिरेणावसिक्ताज़ा गैरिकप्रस्रवा इव । यथा भ्राजन्ति स्यन्दन्त: पर्वता धातुमण्डिता:
rudhireṇāvasiktāś ca gairikaprasravā iva | yathā bhrājanti syandantāḥ parvatā dhātumaṇḍitāḥ ||
Sañjaya sprach: „Mit Blut beschmiert und durchtränkt sahen sie aus wie Berge, von rotem Ocker durchzogen. So glänzten die Streitwagen—wie Hügel, geschmückt mit Erzadern—schrecklich in ihrem Glanz mitten im Gemetzel.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grim truth that war can appear outwardly ‘splendid’—gleaming arms and chariots—yet that brilliance is inseparable from bloodshed. It cautions against being seduced by martial glory and points to the ethical cost that stains even what seems magnificent.
Sañjaya, narrating the battle to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describes the chariots on the field as soaked in blood. He uses a vivid simile: they resemble mountains streaked with red ochre and adorned with mineral deposits, conveying both the visual intensity and the horror of the ongoing combat.