Shloka 47
Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 19 — Saṃśaptaka–Trigarta Assault and Aindra-astra Counter
सुदीर्घवृत्त वरचन्दनो क्षितौ सुवर्णमुक्तामणिवज्रभूषणौ । भुजौ धरायां पतितौ नृपस्य तौ विचेष्ट तुस्ता क्ष्यहताविवोरगौ,उत्तम, विशाल, गोलाकार, श्रेष्ठ चन्दनसे चर्चित, सुवर्ण, मुक्ता, मणि तथा हीरोंसे विभूषित पाण्ड्यनरेशकी वे दोनों भुजाएँ पृथ्वीपर गिरकर गरुड़के मारे हुए दो सर्पोंके समान छटपटाने लगीं
sañjaya uvāca |
sudīrghavṛtta-varacandanau kṣitau suvarṇamuktāmaṇivajrabhūṣaṇau |
bhujau dharāyāṃ patitau nṛpasya tau viceṣṭataḥ kṣatāhatāv ivoragau ||
Sañjaya said: Upon the ground lay the king’s two arms—long and well-rounded, anointed with excellent sandalwood paste, and adorned with gold, pearls, gems, and diamonds. Fallen onto the earth, they writhed like two serpents struck down and wounded, revealing the brutal moral cost of war: even royal splendor and bodily strength collapse before violence, leaving only suffering and the stark impermanence of worldly power.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the fragility of worldly glory: even a king’s ornamented, powerful arms—symbols of status and might—become helpless in war. It invites reflection on the ethical and human cost of violence and the impermanence of bodily power and royal splendor.
Sañjaya describes a battlefield scene where the king’s two richly adorned arms have been severed and have fallen to the ground. They twitch and writhe like wounded serpents, emphasizing the gruesome reality of combat and the fall of a royal warrior.