Shloka 283
अध्याय १४८ — कर्णप्रभावः, धृष्टद्युम्नस्य विरथता, तथा घटोत्कच-आह्वानम्
Chapter 148: Karṇa’s Pressure, Dhṛṣṭadyumna Unhorsed, and the Summoning of Ghaṭotkaca
क्वचिद् बभौ स्रग्विणीव वक््त्रपद्ैः समाचिता । क्षुससे कटे हुए हाथियोंके शुण्डदण्डोंसे यह पृथ्वी सर्पयुक्त-सी जान पड़ती थी। कहीं- कहीं योद्धाओंके मुखकमलोंसे व्याप्त होनेके कारण रणभूमि कमलपुष्पोंकी मालाओंसे अलंकृत-सी प्रतीत होती थी
kvacid babhau sragviṇīva vaktrapadaiḥ samācitā |
Sañjaya said: In some places the battlefield appeared as though adorned with garlands, being densely strewn with the severed faces (of fallen warriors). Elsewhere, the earth—covered with the cut-off trunks of elephants—seemed as if filled with serpents. Thus the field of slaughter was described through grim similes that expose the moral cost of war: beauty-like imagery is used only to heighten the horror of violence and the transience of embodied life.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical and existential cost of war: poetic similes of adornment (garlands, lotuses, serpents) are inverted to reveal horror, reminding the listener that violence turns life and beauty into impermanence and suffering.
Sañjaya narrates the aftermath and दृश्य of the battle: the ground is strewn with severed bodies and elephant remains, making the battlefield appear ‘decorated’ in a dreadful, ironic way through vivid comparisons.