Shloka 69
अध्याय ६० — कर्णस्य पाञ्चाल-सोमक-निग्रहः
Karna’s Suppression of the Panchala–Somaka Forces
अशोभत मही तत्र विशीर्णरिव पर्वतै: | गिरे और गिरते हुए सुवर्णभूषित हाथियोंसे ढकी हुई रणभूमि ऐसी शोभा पा रही थी, मानो वहाँ ढेर-के-ढेर पर्वत-खण्ड बिखरे पड़े हों ।।
sañjaya uvāca |
aśobhata mahī tatra viśīrṇar iva parvataiḥ |
dīptābhai ratnavad dhiśva patitair gajayodhibhiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: There the earth shone as though strewn with shattered mountain-masses. The battlefield, covered with fallen war-elephants—adorned with gold and gleaming like jewels—appeared as if heaps of broken peaks lay scattered.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse conveys the impermanence of worldly splendor: even jewel-like, gold-adorned symbols of royal power (war-elephants) become lifeless heaps. It implicitly warns that war turns magnificence into ruin, inviting reflection on the ethical cost of violence.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the दृश्य of the battlefield: the ground is covered with fallen elephants, whose massive bodies make the earth look as if broken mountain fragments are scattered everywhere.