Shloka 51

Adhyāya 18 — Sequential Duels and Formation Pressure

Ulūka–Yuyutsu; Śakuni–Sutasoma; Kṛpa–Dhṛṣṭadyumna; Kṛtavarmā–Śikhaṇḍin

Devanagari script

तथा महीभूतां वक्‍्त्रै: कुमुदोत्पलसंनिभै: । 'जैसे तालाब कुमुद, उत्पल और कमलोंके समूहसे विकसित दिखायी देता है, उसी प्रकार राजाओंके कुमुद और उत्पल-सदृश मुखोंसे यह रणभूमि सुशोभित हो रही है ।। ५० 3] तारागणविचित्रस्य निर्मलेन्दुद्युतित्विष:

Transliteration

tathā mahībhūtāṃ vaktraiḥ kumudotpalasaṃnibhaiḥ |

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: “Sebagaimana telaga tampak elok ketika gugusan kumuda dan utpala bermekaran, demikian pula medan laga ini tampak berhias oleh wajah para raja—laksana teratai putih dan teratai biru.”

Word by Word

तथाthus, in the same way

महीभूताम्the earth / the ground (as become earth-like; i.e., the battlefield-ground)

वक्त्रैःby/with faces, mouths

कुमुदोत्पलसंनिभैःresembling kumuda and utpala (lotuses)

तारागणविचित्रस्यof (that which is) variegated with multitudes of stars

निर्मलin/with the clear, spotless (sky)

इन्दुof the moon

द्युतित्विषःof the shining radiance/splendour

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

kings (rājānaḥ, implied by context)

battlefield (raṇabhūmi, implied by context)

kumuda (white water-lily)

utpala (blue lotus)

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 highlights the Mahābhārata’s recurring contrast between beauty and destruction: even in war, poetic splendor can appear, but it underscores the impermanence of life and the tragic cost borne by kings and warriors.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya continues narrating the Kurukṣetra battle to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describing how the battlefield looks ‘ornamented’ by the lotus-like faces of kings—an aesthetic simile that intensifies the pathos of imminent death amid apparent beauty.