Shloka 20
Nakula’s Engagement with Citra-sena and Karṇa’s Sons; Śalya Re-stabilizes the Kaurava Host
उद्वृत्तनयनैस्तैस्तु गतसच्त्वै: सुविक्षतै: । व्यभ्राजत मही राजन् पुण्डरीकैरिवावृता
udvṛttanayanais tais tu gatasattvaiḥ suvikṣataiḥ | vyabhrājata mahī rājan puṇḍarīkair ivāvṛtā ||
Wahai Raja, bumi tampak berkilau seakan tertutup teratai putih, oleh mereka yang matanya terbalik ke atas, yang daya hidupnya telah pergi, dan yang terbaring dengan luka-luka parah.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a striking simile—corpses and grievously wounded bodies making the ground look like it is strewn with white lotuses—to highlight the moral gravity of war. It cautions that aestheticized descriptions cannot erase the reality of suffering and death, and it implicitly presses the ruler to recognize responsibility for the consequences of conflict.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra what the battlefield looks like: the earth appears to shine because it is covered with fallen and badly wounded warriors, their eyes upturned and their life-force gone. It is a visual report of the devastation in the Shalya Parva war scenes.