Shloka 8
Adhyāya 141 — Night duels: Śaineya and Bhūriśravas; Droṇi and Ghaṭotkaca; Bhīma and Duryodhana
ललाटस्थैस्ततो बाणै: सूतपुत्रो व्यरोचत । नीलोत्पलमयीं मालां धारयन् वै यथा पुरा,ललाटमें स्थित हुए उन बाणोंद्वारा सूतपुत्रकी उसी प्रकार शोभा हुई, जैसे वह पहले मस्तकपर नील कमलकी माला धारण करके सुशोभित होता था
lalāṭasthais tato bāṇaiḥ sūtaputro vyarocata | nīlotpalamayīṃ mālāṃ dhārayan vai yathā purā ||
Sañjaya said: Then, with those arrows lodged upon his forehead, the charioteer’s son shone brilliantly—just as he had once shone before, as though wearing a garland made of blue lotuses upon his brow. The verse underscores the grim irony of war: what once was an ornament of beauty is now mirrored by wounds, yet the warrior’s composure and radiance remain unbroken.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights steadfastness under suffering: even when struck and wounded, a warrior’s inner resolve can remain luminous. It also points to the ethical tragedy of war, where what resembles ornamentation is actually injury—beauty and violence become unsettlingly intertwined.
Sañjaya describes Karṇa (called ‘sūtaputra’) after arrows have lodged in his forehead. Despite the wounds, he appears radiant, and the arrows are poetically compared to the earlier beauty of a blue-lotus garland he once wore on his brow.