Shloka 44
अध्याय ५६ — च्यवन–कुशिकसंवादः
Cyavana–Kuśika Dialogue on Lineage, Conflict, and Transmission
बहुशो भृशविद्धौ तौ स्रवन्तौ च क्षतोद्धवम् । ददृशाते महाराज पुष्पिताविव किंशुकौ
bahuśo bhṛśaviddhau tau sravantau ca kṣatodbhavam | dadṛśāte mahārāja puṣpitāv iva kiṃśukau ||
Bhīṣma said: “O great king, the two of them, struck again and again and grievously wounded, were seen with blood streaming from their injuries. Soaked in gore, they appeared like kiṃśuka trees in full bloom.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a striking simile—blood-soaked bodies resembling blossoming kiṃśuka—to highlight how war’s spectacle can conceal profound suffering. It implicitly urges ethical reflection on violence, the human cost of conflict, and the need for dharmic restraint even amid heroic narratives.
Bhīṣma describes two combatants who have been repeatedly and severely wounded; blood streams from their injuries, and their gore-covered appearance is compared to the bright red blossoms of the kiṃśuka (palāśa) tree.