Shloka 41
स दुर्मुखं भ्रुवोर्मध्ये नाराचेना भ्यताडयत् । तस्य तद् विबभौ वकक्त्रं सनालमिव पड़कजम्
sa durmukhaṁ bhruvormadhye nārācena abhyatāḍayat | tasya tad vibabhau vaktraṁ sanālam iva paṅkajam ||
Sañjaya said: He struck Durmukha with a nārāca arrow right between the eyebrows. At that blow, Durmukha’s face shone forth—like a lotus with its stalk—an image that heightens the grim irony of beauty appearing in the very moment of violent wounding on the battlefield.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between martial prowess and moral cost: even when a warrior acts within kṣatriya warfare, the narrative frames violence with unsettling poetic beauty, prompting reflection on the tragic dignity and irony of battle.
In Sañjaya’s battlefield report, an unnamed warrior strikes the Kaurava fighter Durmukha with a nārāca arrow between the eyebrows; Durmukha’s face is described as appearing like a lotus with its stalk, a vivid simile for the arrow lodged in place.