Shloka 303
अध्याय १४८ — कर्णप्रभावः, धृष्टद्युम्नस्य विरथता, तथा घटोत्कच-आह्वानम्
Chapter 148: Karṇa’s Pressure, Dhṛṣṭadyumna Unhorsed, and the Summoning of Ghaṭotkaca
विरराज भृशं चित्रा मही नववधूरिव । विचित्र पगड़ी, मुकुट, केयूर, अंगद, कुण्डल, स्वर्णजटित कवच, हाथी-घोड़ोंके आभूषण तथा सैकड़ों किरीटोंसे यत्र-तत्र आच्छादित हुई वह युद्धभूमि नववधूके समान बम. शोभासे सुशोभित हो रही थी
sañjaya uvāca | virarāja bhṛśaṃ citrā mahī navavadhūr iva | vicitra-pagṛḍī-mukuṭa-keyūra-aṅgada-kuṇḍala-svarṇa-jaṭita-kavaca-hastī-aśvābharaṇa-śataśaḥ-kirīṭaiḥ yatra-tatra ācchāditā sā yuddhabhūmiḥ navavadhūr iva bhūyaḥ śobhāyāṃ suśobhitā babhūva |
Sanjaya said: The earth—variegated and dazzling—shone intensely like a newly married bride. Covered here and there with many kinds of turbans and crowns, armlets and bracelets, earrings, golden-inlaid cuirasses, and the ornaments of elephants and horses, and strewn with hundreds of diadems, that battlefield appeared adorned with a terrible splendor. The verse frames war’s pageantry as bridal beauty, implicitly exposing the ethical irony: what looks ‘ornamental’ is in fact the aftermath of violence, where human pride and royal insignia become mere debris.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical irony of war: the same objects that signify honor and kingship—crowns, armor, ornaments—become scattered remnants on the ground. By comparing the battlefield to a bride, it exposes how outward splendor can mask inner horror, urging discernment about glory, pride, and the true cost of violence.
Sanjaya narrates to Dhritarashtra that the battlefield is strewn everywhere with royal headgear, jewelry, armor, and the decorated trappings of elephants and horses. The scene is visually dazzling, yet it is the result of intense fighting and fallen warriors.