Shloka 71
वर देनेवाले भूरिश्रवाका नीले केशोंसे अलंकृत तथा कबूतरके समान लाल नेत्रोंवाला वह कटा हुआ सिर ऐसा जान पड़ता था, मानो अश्वमेधके मेध्य अश्वका कटा हुआ मस्तक अग्निकुण्डके भीतर रखा गया हो
vara-denevāle bhūriśravā-kā nīla-keśaiḥ sa-alaṅkṛtaḥ tathā kapūta-samaṃ lāla-netraḥ sa chinnaḥ śiraḥ evaṃ jānīyate sma, yathā aśvamedhasya medhya-aśvasya chinnaṃ mastakaṃ agni-kuṇḍasya antar nihitaṃ syāt.
Sanjaya said: The severed head of Bhūriśravas—renowned as a giver of boons—adorned with dark hair and bearing reddish eyes like those of a pigeon, appeared as though the cut head of the consecrated horse of an Aśvamedha sacrifice had been placed within the fire-pit. The image underscores how the battlefield’s violence grotesquely mirrors sacrificial ritual, raising an ethical tension between sanctified offering and unlawful killing.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a sacrificial metaphor to highlight an ethical dissonance: battlefield killing can resemble ritual offering in outward imagery, yet it lacks the sanctifying intention and dharmic restraint of a yajña. The comparison invites reflection on how violence, when detached from righteousness, becomes a grim parody of sacred acts.
Sanjaya describes the appearance of Bhūriśravas’s severed head—dark-haired, with reddish eyes—likening it to the head of the consecrated horse in an Aśvamedha placed in the fire-pit. It is a vivid report of the battlefield aftermath, emphasizing shock, pathos, and the ritual-like imagery of death.