Shloka 20
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५७
Arjuna’s targeted advance; Śalya–Karṇa dialogue; interception attempts
परिघैरायसैघोरैरय:कुन्तै: परश्वथै: । शरीरैर्बहुभिश्छिन्ने: शोणितौघपरिप्लुतै:
parighair āyasai ghorair ayaḥ-kuntaiḥ paraśvathaiḥ | śarīrair bahubhiś chinnaiḥ śoṇitaugha-pariplutaiḥ ||
संजय बोले—रणभूमि भयंकर लोहे के परिघों, लोहे की नोक वाले कुन्तों और परश्वथों से पटी पड़ी थी; और असंख्य कटे-फटे शरीर रक्त-प्रवाहों में डूबे हुए पड़े थे।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grim reality of war: weapons and severed bodies drenched in blood. Ethically, it functions as a stark reminder of the human cost of conflict, tempering heroic rhetoric with the truth of suffering and impermanence.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the scene on the battlefield: fearsome iron weapons lie about, and many bodies have been cut down, the ground inundated with streams of blood—depicting the intensity and devastation of the fighting in the Karṇa Parva.