Shloka 56
कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke
संतस्तार क्षितिं क्षिप्रं विनालैनलिनैरिव । धनंजयने अपने तीखे भल्लोंसे वीरोंके सुन्दर नेत्र
sañjaya uvāca | saṃtastāra kṣitiṃ kṣipraṃ vinālainalinair iva | dhanañjayena apane tīkṣṇaiḥ bhallaiḥ vīrāṇāṃ sundara-netra-bhrū-danta-śobhitān pūrṇa-candramā-samaṃ manohara-mukhavālīn mastakān chittvā-chittvā tatraiva bhūmiṃ kṣaṇena pātayām āsa, yathā tatra vināla-kamalāni bistaritāni syuḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Dhanañjaya (Arjuna), with razor-sharp bhalla arrows, swiftly severed again and again the heads of the warriors—heads adorned with handsome eyes, brows, and teeth, their faces lovely like the full moon—and in a moment carpeted the ground there, as though the earth had been strewn with stemless lotuses.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the paradox of righteous warfare: a kṣatriya’s duty may demand decisive force, yet the poetic imagery also makes the human cost unmistakable, inviting reflection on dharma performed amid tragic consequences.
Sañjaya describes Arjuna’s battlefield feat: with sharp bhalla arrows he repeatedly beheads opposing warriors, so that the ground appears covered with severed heads, compared to a spread of stemless lotuses.