Shloka 236
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 107: Karṇa–Bhīma Saṃmarda
Arrow-storm Engagement
राजसूये मखश्रेष्ठे यथा यूप: समुच्छित: । राजन! जैसे यज्ञोंमें श्रेष्ठ राजसूयमें ऊँचा यूप सुशोभित होता है, भूरिश्रवाका वह सुवर्णमय यूप वैसे ही शोभा पा रहा था
rājasūye makhaśreṣṭhe yathā yūpaḥ samucchitaḥ | rājan! bhūriśravākaḥ sa suvarṇamayo yūpas tathaiva śobhāṃ prāpa |
Sanjaya said: “O King, just as in the supreme sacrifice—the Rājasūya—a lofty sacrificial post (yūpa) stands resplendent, so too did that golden yūpa belonging to Bhūriśravas appear splendid.” The comparison heightens the scene’s ritual grandeur, suggesting how the battlefield moment is being framed with the imagery of sacrifice—where honor, display, and the cost of violence are implicitly intertwined.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses sacrificial symbolism to frame martial splendor: what appears glorious (a golden yūpa-like object) also evokes the ritual logic of sacrifice, hinting that royal ambition and war can mirror sacrificial display—beautiful in form, costly in consequence.
Sañjaya describes to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra an object associated with Bhūriśravas that shines like a tall yūpa in the Rājasūya sacrifice, emphasizing its striking, ceremonial-looking brilliance amid the events of the Drona Parva.