Shloka 73
Śalya’s Objection to Sārathya and Duryodhana’s Conciliation (शल्यमन्यु-प्रशमनम् / Sārathyāṅgīkāra)
नक्षत्रसमूहोंके चिह्ववाले कवचोंसे आच्छादित, उत्तम घंटोंसे सुशोभित तथा अनेक रंगकी विचित्र ध्वजा-पताकाओंसे अलंकृत हाथियोंको हमने चारों ओर भागते देखा था ।।
sañjaya uvāca |
śirāṃsi bāhūn ūrūṃś ca chinnān anyāṃs tathaiva ca |
karṇacāpacyutair bāṇair apaśyāma samantataḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “We saw, on every side, elephants covered in armor marked like constellations, splendid with fine bells and adorned with many-colored banners and pennants, running in all directions. We also saw, all around, heads, arms, and thighs—other limbs as well—severed and falling, cut down by the arrows released from Karṇa’s bow.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grim ethical tension of war: heroic skill (Karna’s archery) produces massive suffering, reminding the listener that martial excellence does not erase the moral and human cost of violence.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Karṇa’s arrows are cutting down warriors so fiercely that severed heads, arms, and thighs are seen falling everywhere across the battlefield.