Shloka 42
आदीप्तमिव तत् सैन्यं शरैश्छिन्नतनुच्छदम् । आसीत् सुशोणितक्लिन्नं फुल्लाशोकवनं यथा
ādīptam iva tat sainyaṃ śaraiś chinna-tanu-cchadam | āsīt suśoṇita-klinnaṃ phullāśoka-vanaṃ yathā ||
उस समय सारी सेना जलती हुई-सी दिखायी देती थी। बाणों से उसके कवच छिन्न-भिन्न हो गये थे तथा वह खून से लथपथ हो खिले हुए अशोकवन के समान प्रतीत होती थी।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse offers no direct injunction but conveys an ethical reflection through imagery: war’s splendor is illusory—what seems ‘ablaze’ is actually a host torn by weapons and soaked in blood. The poetic comparison to a blossoming aśoka grove heightens the contrast between natural beauty and human-made devastation, prompting discernment about the true cost of violence.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the appearance of the battlefield: the army looks as if it is burning; arrows have shredded its protective coverings (armor), and the troops are drenched in blood, creating a vivid, almost surreal scene likened to a flowering aśoka forest.