Shloka 48
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 29 — Arjuna’s defeat of Vṛṣaka–Acalā and the neutralization of Śakuni’s māyā
स भिन्नहृदयो राजा भगदत्त: किरीटिना,किरीट्धारी अर्जुनके द्वारा हृदय विदीर्ण कर दिये जानेपर राजा भगदत्तने प्राणशून्य हो अपने धनुष-बाण त्याग दिये। उनके सिरसे पगड़ी और पट्टीका वह सुन्दर वस्त्र खिसककर गिर गया, जैसे कमलनालके ताडनसे उसका पत्ता टूटकर गिर जाता है
sa bhinnahṛdayo rājā bhagadattaḥ kirīṭinā | kirīṭadhārī arjunena hṛdayaṃ vidīryamāṇaḥ prāṇaśūnyaḥ san dhanurbāṇān tyaktavān | tasya śirasaḥ pṛṣṭhī ca paṭṭikā ca sā sundaravastrāvalī khisakya papāta, yathā kamalanālasya tāḍanena pattraṃ chinnaṃ patati ||
Sañjaya said: King Bhagadatta, his heart split by the diadem-wearing Arjuna, became bereft of life and let fall his bow and arrows. From his head his turban and headband—those fine garments—slipped and dropped, like a lotus-leaf breaking off and falling when its stalk is struck.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights impermanence and the ethical gravity of war: royal power and outward insignia (weapons, turban, headband) mean nothing once prāṇa departs. It also reflects kṣatriya-dharma’s harsh arena, where duty-bound combat leads to irreversible consequences.
Sañjaya reports that Arjuna (the diadem-wearer) mortally wounds King Bhagadatta by splitting his heart. Bhagadatta dies, drops his bow and arrows, and his head-cloths slip and fall—compared poetically to a lotus-leaf falling when its stalk is struck.