Shloka 24

कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५७

Arjuna’s targeted advance; Śalya–Karṇa dialogue; interception attempts

Devanagari script

कबन्धै: शोणितादिग्धैश्छिन्नगात्रशिरोधरै:

Transliteration

kabandhaiḥ śoṇitādigdhaiś chinnagātraśirodharaiḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: “(The battlefield) was filled with headless trunks, smeared with blood, bearing severed limbs and heads—an image of war’s brutal cost, where the collapse of bodily life starkly exposes the moral weight of violence.”

Word by Word

• कबन्धैः: with/by headless trunks
• कबन्धैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कबन्ध
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• शोणितादिग्धैः: smeared with blood
• शोणितादिग्धैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शोणितादिग्ध
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• छिन्नगात्रशिरोधरैः: having severed limbs and heads
• छिन्नगात्रशिरोधरैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: छिन्नगात्रशिरोधर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the stark reality and moral gravity of warfare: even when fought under kṣatriya-duty, battle results in horrific suffering and death, reminding the listener of impermanence and the ethical burden of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is vividly describing the battlefield scene—strewn with blood-smeared, headless bodies and severed limbs—intensifying the atmosphere of devastation in the Karṇa Parva war narrative.