Shloka 41
भीष्मवधोपाय-प्रश्नः (Inquiry into the means to overcome Bhīṣma) | Chapter 103
विषक्तै: स शरैश्वापि तपनीयपरिच्छदै: । आर्ष्यशृद्िर्बभौ राजन् दीप्तशुड्र इवाचल:,राजन! शरीरमें धँसे हुए उन सुवर्णभूषित बाणों-द्वारा राक्षत अलम्बुष चमकीले शिखरोंवाले पर्वतकी भाँति सुशोभित हुआ
viṣaktaiḥ sa śaraiś cāpi tapanīya-paricchadaiḥ | ārṣyaśṛṅgī babhau rājan dīpta-śṛṅga ivācalaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: O King, pierced all over by arrows adorned with gold, the rākṣasa Alambuṣa shone forth—like a mountain whose peaks are blazing—his body bristling with shafts. The image underscores the grim splendor of battle: even in violence, the warrior’s endurance and the visible marks of combat become a stark emblem of the war’s inexorable momentum and the cost borne by embodied beings.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the paradox of war: bodily harm is real and grievous, yet the epic frames the battlefield through elevated imagery. Endurance under attack becomes a visible sign of the battle’s intensity, reminding the listener that martial glory is inseparable from suffering and the ethical weight of violence.
Sañjaya describes Alambuṣa on the battlefield, his body pierced by many arrows decorated with gold. Because the embedded shafts gleam, Alambuṣa appears like a mountain with shining, fiery peaks.