Shloka 296

Devanagari script

व्यभ्राजेतां यथा वारि स्रवन्ती गैरिकाचलौ । उन दोनोंके सारे अंग घावोंसे भर गये थे और दोनों ही खूनसे लथपथ हो गये थे। उस समय वे जलका स्रोत बहाते हुए गेरूके दो पर्वतोंके समान शोभा पा रहे भे

Transliteration

vyabhrājetāṃ yathā vāri sravantī gairikācalau |

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Tous deux brillaient comme deux montagnes d’ocre rouge d’où s’écoulent des ruisseaux. Leurs corps étaient couverts de blessures et ils étaient trempés de sang ; pourtant, au cœur de l’horreur du combat, leur constance les rendait saisissants et redoutables.

Word by Word

व्यभ्राजेताम्the two shone/splendidly appeared

यथाas, like

वारिwater

स्रवन्तीflowing

गैरिक-अचलौthe two ochre-colored mountains

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

two warriors (unnamed in this pāda)

water/stream (vāri-sravas)

ochre mountains (gairikācalau)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the paradox of the battlefield: grievous injury and bloodshed coexist with a kind of martial splendor born of resolve. It implicitly points to the kṣatriya ideal of steadfastness under suffering, while also reminding the listener of the body’s vulnerability and the grim cost of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes two combatants (contextually identified elsewhere in the surrounding passage) whose bodies are covered in wounds and soaked in blood. He uses a vivid simile—two ochre mountains with streaming water—to convey both their blood-flowing injuries and their imposing appearance amid the battle.