Shloka 17
Bhīṣma–Karṇa Saṃvāda on the Śaraśayyā (भीष्म–कर्ण संवादः शरशय्यायाम्)
छत्रैश्न बहुधा छिन्नैर्ध्वजैश्न विनिपातितै: । (चामरैहेमदण्डैश्व॒ समास्तीर्यत मेदिनी ।) अड्कुशैरपविद्धैश्व परिस्तोमैश्व भारत
sañjaya uvāca | chatraiś ca bahudhā chinnaiḥ dhvajaiś ca vinipātitaiḥ | cāmaraiḥ hemadaṇḍaiś ca samāstīryata medinī | aṅkuśair apaviddhaiś ca paristomaiś ca bhārata | ekaikaṃ tribhir ānarcat kaṅkubabarhiṇavājitaiḥ |
Sañjaya dit : Ô Bhārata, la terre était jonchée de parasols taillés en pièces, de bannières abattues et de chasse-mouches en queue de yak aux manches d’or ; on y voyait aussi des aiguillons d’éléphant jetés et des harnachements dispersés. Puis il « honora » chaque guerrier à son tour de trois flèches—des traits ornés des plumes de l’oiseau kaṅkuba—leur infligeant une douleur cuisante.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the paradox of dharma in war: disciplined prowess and royal honorific imagery coexist with destruction. The act of ‘honouring’ with arrows suggests formal, rule-bound combat, yet the strewn insignia (parasols, banners, fans) reminds us that status and ceremony collapse under violence.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield littered with broken royal emblems and equipment. He then reports that a warrior (implied from context) pierces prominent opponents—named in the Hindi gloss—each with three feather-adorned arrows, causing them particular distress.