Shloka 26

Devanagari script

सम्पूर्णचन्द्राभमुख: पद्मपत्रनिभेक्षण: । प्रांशुरुत्पलपत्राभो निहतो न्यपतद्‌ भुवि,पूर्णचन्द्रमाके समान कान्तिमान्‌ मुख और कमलदलके समान सुन्दर नेत्रवाले राजा नील बड़े ऊँचे कदके थे। उनकी अंगकान्ति नीलकमल-दलके समान श्याम थी। वे अश्वत्थामाद्वारा मारे जाकर पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़े

Transliteration

saṃpūrṇacandrābhimukhaḥ padmapatranibhekṣaṇaḥ | prāṃśur utpalapatrābho nihato nyapatad bhuvi ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: King Nīla—his face radiant like the full moon, his eyes lovely like lotus-petals, tall in stature, and dark-hued like the petal of a blue lotus—was struck down and fell upon the earth. The verse underscores the tragic impartiality of war: even those marked by beauty and royal dignity are not spared when adharma-driven violence and martial fate prevail.

Word by Word

सम्पूर्णचन्द्राभमुखःhaving a face with the luster of the full moon

पद्मपत्रनिभेक्षणःwhose eyes are like lotus-petals

प्रांशुःtall, lofty

उत्पलपत्राभःhaving the hue/luster of blue-lotus petals

निहतःslain, killed

न्यपतत्fell down

भुविon the ground, on the earth

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

King Nīla

Aśvatthāmā

Earth (bhūmi)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the impermanence of worldly splendour and status: physical beauty, royal stature, and noble appearance do not protect one from the consequences and indiscriminate devastation of war. It invites reflection on the ethical cost of battle and the fragility of embodied life.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that King Nīla, described with poetic similes (full-moon face, lotus-like eyes, blue-lotus hue), is killed by Aśvatthāmā and falls to the ground—one among many notable warriors cut down in the Drona Parva fighting.