Shloka 41
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 25 — Bhīma’s Disruption of Elephant Formations and Bhagadatta’s Shock Advance
स दुर्मुखं भ्रुवोर्मध्ये नाराचेना भ्यताडयत् । तस्य तद् विबभौ वकक्त्रं सनालमिव पड़कजम्
sa durmukhaṁ bhruvormadhye nārācena abhyatāḍayat | tasya tad vibabhau vaktraṁ sanālam iva paṅkajam ||
Sañjaya dit : Il frappa Durmukha d’une flèche nārāca en plein milieu des sourcils. À ce coup, le visage de Durmukha sembla rayonner—tel un lotus avec sa tige—image qui accroît la sombre ironie d’une beauté surgissant à l’instant même d’une blessure violente sur le champ de bataille.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between martial prowess and moral cost: even when a warrior acts within kṣatriya warfare, the narrative frames violence with unsettling poetic beauty, prompting reflection on the tragic dignity and irony of battle.
In Sañjaya’s battlefield report, an unnamed warrior strikes the Kaurava fighter Durmukha with a nārāca arrow between the eyebrows; Durmukha’s face is described as appearing like a lotus with its stalk, a vivid simile for the arrow lodged in place.