Shloka 45
Bhīmasena’s Kalinga Engagement and the Approach of Bhīṣma (भीमसेन-कालिङ्ग-संग्रामः)
प्रार्थयाना निपतिता: संक्षुण्णा वरवारणै: । अशोभन्त महाराज सपुष्पा इव किंशुका:
prārthayānā nipatitāḥ saṁkṣuṇṇā varavāraṇaiḥ | aśobhanta mahārāja sapuṣpā iva kiṁśukāḥ ||
サンジャヤは言った。「大王よ、戦車を砕かれて地に倒れ、別の車を乞い願う勇者たちがいた。だが願いの声もむなしく、その場で大象の足に踏み潰された。そのとき血に染まった彼らの身は、花咲くキンシュカ（kiṁśuka）の樹のように目立って見えた。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh, indiscriminate nature of war: even brave warriors, reduced to pleading after losing their chariots, are crushed without pause. The poetic comparison to blossoming kiṁśuka trees intensifies the ethical tension—beauty of imagery set against the horror of violence—prompting reflection on the cost of kṣatriya warfare and the fragility of life amid dharma-driven conflict.
Sañjaya describes a battlefield moment where some fighters, thrown down because their chariots are destroyed, beg for another chariot to rejoin combat. Before help arrives, large elephants trample them. Their blood-covered bodies are likened to red-flowering palāśa (kiṁśuka) trees.