Shloka 243

कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५७

Arjuna’s targeted advance; Śalya–Karṇa dialogue; interception attempts

Devanagari script

भूर्भाति भरतश्रेष्ठ शान्तार्चिभिरिवाग्निभि: । “भरतश्रेष्ठ] जिनकी गर्दन कट गयी है, विभिन्न अंग छिलन्न-भिन्न हो गये हैं तथा जो खूनसे लथपथ होकर लाल दिखायी देते हैं, उन कबन्धों (धड़ों)-से रणभूमि ऐसी जान पड़ती है, मानो वहाँ जगह-जगह बुझी हुई लपटोंवाले आगके अंगारे पड़े हों

Transliteration

bhūrbhāti bharataśreṣṭha śāntārcibhir ivāgnibhiḥ |

Translation

સંજય બોલ્યા—હે ભરતશ્રેષ્ઠ! જેમની ગળા કપાઈ ગઈ છે, અંગો છિન્ન-ભિન્ન થયા છે અને લોહીથી લથપથ લાલ દેખાતા એવા કબંધી ધડોથી યુદ્ધભૂમિ એવી લાગે છે જાણે ત્યાં ત્યાં બુઝાઈ ગયેલી જ્વાળાવાળા અગ્નિ-અંગારા પડ્યા હોય।

Word by Word

भूःthe earth / ground (battlefield)

भातिshines, appears

भरतश्रेष्ठO best of the Bharatas

शान्त-अर्चिभिःwith (things) having quenched flames / with extinguished-flame (embers)

इवlike, as if

अग्निभिःwith fires / by fires

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by the address bharataśreṣṭha)

Earth/battlefield (bhūḥ)

Fire (agni)

Embers/quenched flames (śāntārciḥ)

Headless trunks (kabandha, per commentary)

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 moral and human cost of war: the battlefield’s horrific aftermath is likened to extinguished fires and embers, emphasizing destruction, impermanence, and the grim consequences that follow from adharma-driven conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra what he ‘sees’ on the battlefield: severed and mangled bodies—especially headless trunks—lie blood-red across the ground, making the earth look as if it is covered with dying fires or scattered embers.