Shloka 273
अर्जुनस्य शीघ्रप्रयाणं भीम-शकुनियुद्धं च
Arjuna’s Rapid Advance and the Bhīma–Śakuni Encounter
वसन्तकाले सुमहान् प्रफुल्ल इव किंशुक: । महाराज! उस समय अत्यन्त घायल हुआ आपका पुत्र वसन्त-ऋतुमें खिले हुए महान् पलाश वृक्षके समान अत्यन्त सुशोभित हो रहा था
vasantakāle sumahān praphulla iva kiṁśukaḥ | mahārāja! tadā atyanta-ghāyalo bhavataḥ putro vasantar̥tau khile hue mahān palāśa-vṛkṣa-samānaḥ atyanta suśobhitaḥ babhūva |
Sanjaya said: O great king, at that time your son—though grievously wounded—appeared splendid, like a great kiṁśuka (palāśa) tree in full bloom in the spring. Even amid the ruin of battle, his radiance and resolve were being described in the language of beauty, as if valor could momentarily transfigure suffering into a kind of tragic grandeur.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the epic’s moral-aesthetic tension: even in adharma-driven war, personal valor and endurance can appear radiant. It implicitly reminds the listener that beauty and glory in battle do not erase the underlying tragedy and ethical cost.
Sanjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the king’s son, though severely wounded, still looked striking—likened to a palāśa tree blazing with spring blossoms—emphasizing his visible presence and fighting spirit amid the battlefield.