Shloka 34
Duryodhana-patana-anuśocana
The Fall of Duryodhana and the Contest of Restraint
जर्जरीकृतसर्वाड्री रुधिरेणाभिसम्प्लुतौ | ददृशाते हिमवति पुष्पिताविव किंशुकौ
jarjarīkṛtasarvāṅgī rudhireṇābhisamplutau | dadṛśāte himavati puṣpitāv iva kiṃśukau ||
गदा के प्रहारों से उनके समस्त अंग चूर-चूर हो गए थे और वे दोनों रक्त से लथपथ थे; उस दशा में वे हिमालय पर खिले हुए दो पलाश-वृक्षों के समान प्रतीत होते थे।
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a powerful simile to show how the splendor of martial valor can coexist with, and even be inseparable from, grievous harm. It invites ethical reflection: war may produce striking ‘heroic’ scenes, yet its reality is bodily ruin and bloodshed.
Two combatants, battered by mace-blows and soaked in blood, are being described as they appear on the Himālaya—likened to two palāśa (kiṃśuka) trees in bloom, whose red flowers evoke the redness of blood.