Shloka 32
भीष्म-युधिष्ठिर-संमर्दः
Bhīṣma’s Pressure on Yudhiṣṭhira; Śikhaṇḍī’s Approach; Evening Withdrawal
ते शरा हेमपुड्खाग्रा व्यदृश्यन्त महीतले । विकर्णरुधिरक्लिन्ना वमन्त इव शोणितम्,उन बाणोंके पुच्छ और अग्रभाग सुनहरे थे। वे विकर्णके रुधिरमें भीगे हुए बाण पृथ्वीपर रक्त वमन करते हुए-से दृष्टिगोचर हो रहे थे
te śarā hemapuḍkhāgrā vyadṛśyanta mahītale | vikarṇarudhiraklinnā vamanta iva śoṇitam ||
Sañjaya said: Those arrows, with golden fletchings and golden points, were seen scattered upon the ground. Smeared and soaked in Vikarṇa’s blood, they looked as though they were vomiting forth gore—an image that starkly reveals the brutal cost of battle and the bodily consequence of martial duty pursued to its end.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse offers no direct moral injunction, but its imagery functions ethically: it confronts the listener with the physical reality of war—splendor (golden arrows) inseparable from suffering (blood). In the Mahābhārata’s moral universe, such descriptions caution that even ‘duty-bound’ combat carries grave human cost.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield aftermath: arrows with golden fletchings and tips lie on the earth, drenched in Vikarṇa’s blood, appearing as if they are spewing blood—indicating that Vikarṇa has been grievously wounded (or struck down) amid the fighting.