Shloka 18
Gāndhārī’s Battlefield Survey: The Fallen and the Onset of Funeral Rites (शल्य-भगीरथ-भीष्म-द्रोणादि-दर्शनम्)
कर्णिनालीकनाराचैरास्तीर्य शयनोत्तमम् | आविश्य शेते भगवान् स्कन्द: शरवर्ण यथा,जैसे भगवान् स्कन्द सरकण्डोंके समूहपर सोये थे, उसी प्रकार ये भीष्मजी कर्णी, नालीक और नाराच आदि बाणोंकी उत्तम शय्या बिछाकर उसीका आश्रय ले सो रहे हैं
karṇinālīkanārācair āstīrya śayanottamam | āviśya śete bhagavān skandaḥ śaravarṇa yathā ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: Setelah menghamparkan ranjang terbaik dari panah karṇin, nālīka, dan nārāca, Bhīṣma berbaring di atasnya dan beristirahat—sebagaimana Skanda yang ilahi dahulu tidur di atas hamparan ilalang di Śaravana.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights steadfastness and disciplined endurance: even in extreme pain and the moral wreckage of war, a great warrior bears suffering with composure. The comparison to Skanda elevates this endurance into a model of austere dignity rather than mere physical toughness.
The narrator describes a figure lying upon a deliberately arranged ‘bed’ of various arrows, and likens this scene to the god Skanda resting on a bed of reeds. The simile intensifies the visual and ethical tone—an extraordinary, almost sacred stillness amid devastation.