Shloka 20

कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५७

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

Devanagari script

परिघैरायसैघोरैरय:कुन्तै: परश्वथै: । शरीरैर्बहुभिश्छिन्ने: शोणितौघपरिप्लुतै:

Transliteration

parighair āyasai ghorair ayaḥ-kuntaiḥ paraśvathaiḥ | śarīrair bahubhiś chinnaiḥ śoṇitaugha-pariplutaiḥ ||

Translation

ಸಂಜಯನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ರಣಭೂಮಿ ಭೀಕರವಾದ ಕಬ್ಬಿಣದ ಪರಿಘಗಳು, ಕಬ್ಬಿಣದ ಮುನೆಯ ಕುಂತಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಪರಶುಗಳಿಂದ ತುಂಬಿ ಹೋಗಿತ್ತು; ಅನೇಕ ಛಿನ್ನವಾದ ದೇಹಗಳು ರಕ್ತಪ್ರವಾಹಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಳುಗಿ ನೆನೆದು ಬಿದ್ದಿದ್ದವು.

Word by Word

परिघैःwith iron clubs/bars

आयसैःiron (made of iron)

घोरैःterrible

अयःकुन्तैःwith iron spears

परश्वथैःwith axes/hatchets

शरीरैःwith bodies

बहुभिःby many

छिन्नैःcut, severed

शोणितौघपरिप्लुतैःflooded/immersed in streams of blood

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

iron clubs (parigha)

iron spears (ayaḥ-kunti)

axes (paraśvatha)

severed bodies

torrents of blood (śoṇitaugha)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the grim reality of war: weapons and severed bodies drenched in blood. Ethically, it functions as a stark reminder of the human cost of conflict, tempering heroic rhetoric with the truth of suffering and impermanence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the scene on the battlefield: fearsome iron weapons lie about, and many bodies have been cut down, the ground inundated with streams of blood—depicting the intensity and devastation of the fighting in the Karṇa Parva.