Shloka 23
धृष्टद्युम्नके घोड़ोंका रंग कबूतरके समान था और द्रोणाचार्यके घोड़े लाल थे। उस युद्धके मैदानमें परस्पर मिले हुए वे वायुके समान वेगशाली अश्व बड़ी शोभा पा रहे थे ।। पारावतसवर्णस्ति रक्तशोणविमिश्रिता: । हया: शुशुभिरे राजन् मेघा इव सविद्युत:,राजन्! कबूतरके समान वर्णवाले घोड़े लाल रंगके घोड़ोंस मिलकर बिजलियोंसहित मेघोंके समान सुशोभित हो रहे थे
pārāvata-savarṇās tu rakta-śoṇa-vimiśritāḥ | hayāḥ śuśubhire rājan meghā iva sa-vidyutaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: O King, the horses—some dove-coloured and others mingled with red and tawny hues—shone on the battlefield like clouds streaked with lightning. In the clash of Droṇa and Dhṛṣṭadyumna, even the meeting of their swift steeds became a vivid sign of the war’s fierce splendour, where martial prowess is displayed amid the grave cost of violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily offers battlefield imagery rather than direct moral instruction; implicitly, it shows how war can appear outwardly magnificent even while it serves a destructive purpose—inviting reflection on the difference between aesthetic splendour and ethical consequence.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: the swift horses associated with the opposing warriors (Dhṛṣṭadyumna and Droṇa) mingle—dove-coloured with red/tawny—creating a striking visual compared to lightning-lit clouds.