Shloka 34
Duryodhana-patana-anuśocana
The Fall of Duryodhana and the Contest of Restraint
जर्जरीकृतसर्वाड्री रुधिरेणाभिसम्प्लुतौ | ददृशाते हिमवति पुष्पिताविव किंशुकौ,उन दोनोंके सारे अंग गदाके प्रहारसे जर्जर हो गये थे और दोनों ही खूनसे लथपथ हो गये थे। उस दशामें वे हिमालयपर खिले हुए दो पलाशवृक्षोंक समान दिखायी देते थे
jarjarīkṛtasarvāṅgī rudhireṇābhisamplutau | dadṛśāte himavati puṣpitāv iva kiṃśukau ||
Their bodies were shattered in every limb by the blows of the mace, and both were drenched in blood. In that condition, upon the Himālaya they appeared like two kiṃśuka (palāśa) trees in full bloom—vivid, striking, and terrible in beauty—an image that underscores how war can turn heroic prowess into a spectacle of suffering.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a powerful simile to show how the splendor of martial valor can coexist with, and even be inseparable from, grievous harm. It invites ethical reflection: war may produce striking ‘heroic’ scenes, yet its reality is bodily ruin and bloodshed.
Two combatants, battered by mace-blows and soaked in blood, are being described as they appear on the Himālaya—likened to two palāśa (kiṃśuka) trees in bloom, whose red flowers evoke the redness of blood.