Shloka 296

Devanagari script

वर्षेण क्लेदितो राजन्‌ यथा गैरिकपर्वत:ः । राजन! खूनसे लथपथ हुआ कृतवर्मा वर्षासे भीगे हुए गेरूके पहाड़के समान शोभा पा रहा था

Transliteration

varṣeṇa kledito rājan yathā gairikaparvataḥ |

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O King, Kṛtavarmā—smeared and drenched in blood—appeared like a mountain of red ochre soaked by the rains.”

Word by Word

• वर्षेण: by rain
• वर्षेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• क्लेदितः: wetted, soaked
• क्लेदितः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्लेदित (क्लिद्)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• यथा: as, like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• गैरिकपर्वतः: a mountain of red ochre
• गैरिकपर्वतः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गैरिकपर्वत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Kṛtavarmā
• gairika (red ochre)
• parvata (mountain)
• varṣa (rain)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses a striking simile to highlight how war makes violence unmistakably visible; martial glory is portrayed alongside the ethical gravity of bloodshed, reminding the listener that battlefield splendor is inseparable from suffering.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Kṛtavarmā, covered in blood, looked like a rain-soaked red-ochre mountain—an image emphasizing the intensity of the fighting and Kṛtavarmā’s fierce engagement.