Shloka 3
अभिमन्युवधः
Abhimanyu’s Fall and the Battlefield Aftermath
कर्ण चाप्यकरोत् क्रुद्धो रुधिरोत्पीडवाहिनम् | कर्णोडपि विबभौ शूर: शरैश्छिन्नोडसृगाप्लुत:,(संध्यानुगतपर्यन्त: शरदीव दिवाकर: ।) फिर क्रोधमें भरे हुए अभिमन्युने कर्णको भी बाणोंसे क्षत-विक्षत करके उसे रक्तकी धारा बहानेवाला बना दिया। उस समय शूरवीर कर्ण भी बाणोंसे छिन्न-भिन्न और खूनसे लथपथ हो बड़ी शोभा पाने लगा, मानो शरत्कालका सूर्य संध्याके समय सम्पूर्णरूपसे लाल दिखायी दे रहा हो
sañjaya uvāca | karṇaṃ cāpyakarot kruddho rudhirotpīḍavāhinam | karṇo 'pi vibabhau śūraḥ śaraiś chinnodāsṛgāplutaḥ | (saṃdhyānugata-paryantaḥ śaradīva divākaraḥ) |
Sañjaya said: Enraged, Abhimanyu struck Karṇa as well, wounding him so that streams of blood flowed. Even Karṇa, that heroic warrior—his body cut by arrows and drenched in blood—appeared resplendent at that moment, like the autumn sun glowing fully red at the edge of twilight. The verse frames the battlefield’s cruelty with a stark aesthetic simile, showing how valor and suffering are intertwined in the kṣatriya ordeal.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya battlefield ethic where courage persists amid grievous injury, while also exposing the moral tension of war: even ‘splendor’ can arise from suffering. The simile of the red autumn sun at twilight aestheticizes violence, prompting reflection on how epic poetry frames harsh duty and human cost together.
Sañjaya reports that Abhimanyu, fighting in fury, strikes Karṇa with arrows so that Karṇa bleeds heavily. Despite being cut up and drenched in blood, Karṇa still appears radiant—compared to the autumn sun reddened at twilight—emphasizing both his valor and the brutal intensity of the combat.