Shloka 27

कृष्णेन अर्जुनस्य प्रोत्साहनम् — Kṛṣṇa’s Exhortation to Arjuna

Prelude to Karṇa’s Slaying

Devanagari script

ते भुजा भोगिभोगाभाश्नन्दनाक्ता विशाम्पते । लोहितार्द्ा भृशं रेजुस्तपनीय ध्वजा इव,प्रजानाथ! सर्पोके शरीरोंके समान प्रतीत होनेवाली कितनी ही चन्दनचर्चित भुजाएँ रणभूमिमें पाँच मुँहवाले सर्पोके समान महान्‌ वेग प्रकट करतीं तथा रक्तरंजित होनेके कारण सुवर्णमयी ध्वजाओंके समान अधिकाधिक शोभा पाती थीं

Transliteration

te bhujā bhogibhogābhāś candanāktā viśāmpate | lohitārdhā bhṛśaṁ rejus tapanīya-dhvajā iva, prajānātha |

Translation

Sañjaya dijo: «Oh señor de los pueblos, muchos brazos—ungidos con sándalo y semejantes a los anillos de las serpientes—relampagueaban por el campo de batalla con fuerza desmedida. Teñidos de sangre, resplandecían aún más, como estandartes de oro puro».

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'te', 'definition': 'those'}, {'term': 'bhujāḥ', 'definition': 'arms (of warriors)'}, {'term': 'bhogibhoga-ābhāḥ', 'definition': 'having the appearance of serpent-coils

• serpent-like in form'}, {'term': 'candanāktāḥ', 'definition': 'smeared/anointed with sandal paste'}, {'term': 'viśāmpate', 'definition': 'O lord of the people (address to Dhṛtarāṣṭra)'}, {'term': 'lohita-ārdhāḥ', 'definition': 'wet/soaked with blood

• blood-stained'}, {'term': 'bhṛśam', 'definition': 'exceedingly, greatly'}, {'term': 'rejuḥ', 'definition': 'they shone, they glittered'}, {'term': 'tapanīya', 'definition': 'gold (refined/pure gold)'}, {'term': 'dhvajāḥ', 'definition': 'banners, standards'}, {'term': 'iva', 'definition': 'like, as if'}, {'term': 'prajānātha', 'definition': 'O protector/lord of subjects (address to Dhṛtarāṣṭra)'}]

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• battlefield (raṇabhūmi)
• arms of warriors
• serpents (nāga/sarpa imagery)
• sandal paste (candana)
• golden banners (tapanīya-dhvaja)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the grim splendor of war: even what is culturally associated with refinement (sandal paste, gold) becomes entangled with bloodshed. By addressing the king as ‘lord of the people,’ the narration implicitly reminds him that royal decisions and attachments culminate in the suffering and dismemberment of subjects on the battlefield.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: severed or violently moving arms of warriors, anointed with sandal paste, appear like coiling serpents; once stained with blood, they gleam vividly, compared to golden banners.