Shloka 18
Gāndhārī’s Battlefield Survey: The Fallen and the Onset of Funeral Rites (शल्य-भगीरथ-भीष्म-द्रोणादि-दर्शनम्)
कर्णिनालीकनाराचैरास्तीर्य शयनोत्तमम् | आविश्य शेते भगवान् स्कन्द: शरवर्ण यथा,जैसे भगवान् स्कन्द सरकण्डोंके समूहपर सोये थे, उसी प्रकार ये भीष्मजी कर्णी, नालीक और नाराच आदि बाणोंकी उत्तम शय्या बिछाकर उसीका आश्रय ले सो रहे हैं
karṇinālīkanārācair āstīrya śayanottamam | āviśya śete bhagavān skandaḥ śaravarṇa yathā ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : Ayant étendu une couche excellente faite de flèches karṇin, nālīka et nārāca, il s’y étend et s’y repose—comme jadis le divin Skanda dormit sur un lit de roseaux. L’image souligne l’endurance du guerrier et la dignité austère d’une souffrance portée sans plainte au lendemain de la guerre.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights steadfastness and disciplined endurance: even in extreme pain and the moral wreckage of war, a great warrior bears suffering with composure. The comparison to Skanda elevates this endurance into a model of austere dignity rather than mere physical toughness.
The narrator describes a figure lying upon a deliberately arranged ‘bed’ of various arrows, and likens this scene to the god Skanda resting on a bed of reeds. The simile intensifies the visual and ethical tone—an extraordinary, almost sacred stillness amid devastation.