Shloka 19
Bhīṣma–Karṇa Saṃvāda on the Śaraśayyā (भीष्म–कर्ण संवादः शरशय्यायाम्)
तत्र तत्रापविद्धैश्व बाहुभि श्रन्दनोक्षितै: । ऊरुभि क्षु नरेन्द्राणां समास्तीर्यत मेदिनी,एकैकं त्रिभिरानर्च्छत् कड़ुकबर्हिणवाजितै: । उसके बाद सुशर्मा और कृपाचार्यको भी तीन-तीन बाणोंसे बींध डाला। राजेन्द्र! फिर समरांगणमें प्राग्ज्योतिषनरेश भगदत्त, सिन्धुराज जयद्रथ, चित्रसेन, विकर्ण, कृतवर्मा, दुर्मीषण तथा महारथी विन्द और अनुविन्द--इनमैंसे प्रत्येकको गीधकी पाँखसे युक्त तीन- तीन बाणोंद्वारा विशेष पीड़ा दी जहाँ-तहाँ गिरी हुई राजाओंकी चन्दनचर्चित भुजाओं और जाँघोंसे वह रणभूमि पट गयी थी
sañjaya uvāca | tatra tatrāpaviddhaiś ca bāhubhiś candanokṣitaiḥ | ūrubhiś ca narendrāṇāṃ samāstīryata medinī || ekaikaṃ tribhir ānarcat kaṅkabārhiṇavājitaiḥ |
Sañjaya said: In that battle, the earth was strewn here and there with the severed arms and thighs of kings—arms anointed with sandal-paste—so that the field lay as though carpeted with fallen royal limbs. And he struck each warrior with three arrows, fletched with vulture-feathers, dealing keen pain and revealing the grim, relentless code of kṣatriya war, where prowess is proved amid widespread ruin.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the harsh reality of kṣatriya-dharma in war: valor and duty are pursued amid devastating loss, reminding the listener of the impermanence of bodily glory and the moral weight of violence even when sanctioned by duty.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield littered with the severed, sandal-anointed limbs of fallen kings, and notes that a warrior is striking each opponent with three vulture-feathered arrows, intensifying the carnage and pressure of the fight.