Shloka 23
द्रोणपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः (Droṇa Parva, Chapter 15): युधिष्ठिर-रक्षा तथा अर्जुनस्य शरवृष्टिः
ततो गदाग्राभिहतौ क्षणेन रुधिरोक्षितौ | ददृशाते महात्मानौ किंशुकाविव पुष्पितौ,एक ही क्षणमें गदाके अग्रभागसे घायल होकर वे दोनों महामनस्वी वीर खूनसे लथपथ हो फूलोंसे भरे हुए दो पलाश वृक्षोंके समान दिखायी देने लगे
tato gadāgrābhihatau kṣaṇena rudhirokṣitau | dadṛśāte mahātmānau kiṃśukāv iva puṣpitau ||
Sanjaya said: Then, in a single instant, struck by the foremost part of the mace, the two great-souled warriors were seen drenched in blood, appearing like two kiṃśuka (palāśa) trees in full bloom. The verse underscores the grim irony of war: what looks like “flowering” beauty is in truth the vivid redness of spilled blood, reminding the listener that valor and violence can be visually glorified even as they signal suffering and mortality.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral tension of warfare: the battlefield can aestheticize violence through poetic imagery (blood-red like blossoms), yet the underlying reality is injury and suffering. It cautions against confusing outward splendor of valor with the ethical cost of harm.
Two eminent warriors are struck by the tip/forepart of a mace and, in a moment, become covered in blood. Observers see them as resembling two kiṃśuka (palāśa) trees in bloom because of the vivid red coloration.