Shloka 83
कृष्णेन अर्जुनस्य प्रोत्साहनम् — Kṛṣṇa’s Exhortation to Arjuna
Prelude to Karṇa’s Slaying
शक्रगोपगणाकीर्णा प्रावषीव यथा धरा । भारत! खूनसे ढकी हुई यह पृथ्वी वर्षाकालमें वीरबहूटी नामक लाल रंगके कीड़ोंसे व्याप्त हुई भूमिके समान शोभा पाती थी
śakragopagaṇākīrṇā prāvaṣīva yathā dharā | bhārata! khūnase ḍhakī huī iyaṃ pṛthvī varṣākāle vīrabahūṭī nāmaka lāla-raṅga-ke kīṛoṃse vyāptā bhūmike samānā śobhā pāti thī |
Sañjaya sprach: „O Bhārata! Die Erde, vom Blut bedeckt, erschien wie der Boden in der Regenzeit, dicht übersät von Schwärmen roter śakragopa-Insekten. So nahm auf dem Schlachtfeld der blutgetränkte Grund einen schaurig-trügerischen Glanz an: Was in der Natur saisonale Farbe ist, spiegelte sich hier als menschliche Gewalt.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a nature simile to expose the ethical horror of war: the earth’s ‘beauty’ is no longer innocent seasonal color but the result of bloodshed. It warns that violence can mimic aesthetic order while actually signaling adharma and collective ruin.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the दृश्य of the battlefield: the ground is drenched in blood and looks like land in the rainy season covered with swarms of red śakragopa insects—an image emphasizing the scale of slaughter.