Shloka 203
रुक्मपुड्खै: शरैश्छिन्नाश्चित्ररूपा बभुस्तदा । राजन! उन दोनोंके वे रथ, वे घोड़े और वे सारथि सुवर्णमय पंखवाले बाणोंसे क्षत- विक्षत होकर उस समय विचित्ररूपसे सुशोभित हो रहे थे
rukmapuṅkhaiḥ śaraiś chinnāś citrarūpā babhūs tadā | rājan! ubhayos te rathās te hayās te sārathayaś ca suvarṇamaya-puṅkhavālair bāṇaiḥ kṣata-vikṣatāḥ san tadā vicitrarūpeṇa suśobhitā babhūvuḥ ||
Sañjaya said: O King, at that time, when their chariots, horses, and charioteers were cut and torn by arrows with golden shafts, they appeared in a strange, variegated splendor—an unsettling beauty born of violence, where the very instruments of war are ornamented by wounds.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral tension of war: even grievous injury can appear 'ornamental' in the spectacle of battle, reminding the listener that martial glory often masks suffering and destruction.
Sañjaya describes to Dhṛtarāṣṭra how the combatants’ chariots, horses, and charioteers are cut and mangled by golden-fletched arrows, yet appear visually striking—an image of battlefield intensity and damage.