Shloka 243
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५७
Arjuna’s targeted advance; Śalya–Karṇa dialogue; interception attempts
भूर्भाति भरतश्रेष्ठ शान्तार्चिभिरिवाग्निभि: । “भरतश्रेष्ठ] जिनकी गर्दन कट गयी है, विभिन्न अंग छिलन्न-भिन्न हो गये हैं तथा जो खूनसे लथपथ होकर लाल दिखायी देते हैं, उन कबन्धों (धड़ों)-से रणभूमि ऐसी जान पड़ती है, मानो वहाँ जगह-जगह बुझी हुई लपटोंवाले आगके अंगारे पड़े हों
bhūrbhāti bharataśreṣṭha śāntārcibhir ivāgnibhiḥ |
Sañjaya said: “O best of the Bharatas, the earth on the battlefield appears as though strewn with fires whose flames have died down—so do the blood-smeared trunks of the fallen, with severed necks and mangled limbs, lie scattered about, glowing red like embers.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral and human cost of war: the battlefield’s horrific aftermath is likened to extinguished fires and embers, emphasizing destruction, impermanence, and the grim consequences that follow from adharma-driven conflict.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra what he ‘sees’ on the battlefield: severed and mangled bodies—especially headless trunks—lie blood-red across the ground, making the earth look as if it is covered with dying fires or scattered embers.