Shloka 10
भीष्मरथाभिमुख्यं — Arjuna’s advance with Śikhaṇḍin; Duḥśāsana’s interception
सो$तिविद्धो महाराज शोणितौघपरिप्लुत: । वसन्ते पुष्पशबलो रक्ताशोक इवाबभौ
so ’tividdho mahārāja śoṇitaughapariplutaḥ | vasante puṣpaśabalo raktāśoka ivābabhau ||
Sañjaya said: “O great king, he, pierced through and through and drenched in torrents of blood, appeared like a red Aśoka tree in spring—variegated with blossoms.” The image underscores the terrible beauty of the battlefield: valor and suffering are inseparably entwined, and the splendor of martial prowess is shadowed by the ethical cost of violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral tension of war: even when courage appears radiant, it is inseparable from pain and bloodshed. The poetic beauty of the simile does not glorify violence so much as reveal its tragic cost.
Sañjaya describes a warrior who has been grievously pierced and is soaked in blood; yet, in appearance he seems like a red Aśoka tree in spring, covered with blossoms—an image for a body marked by wounds and blood.