Shloka 216
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५७
Arjuna’s targeted advance; Śalya–Karṇa dialogue; interception attempts
सतलन्रै: सकेयूरैर्भाति भारत मेदिनी । “भारत! चन्दनचर्चित, अंगदों और केयूरोंसे अलंकृत, सोनेके अन्य आभूषणोंसे विभूषित तथा दस्तानोंसे युक्त वीरोंकी कटी हुई भुजाओंसे युद्धभूमिकी अद्भुत शोभा हो रही है
satalanraiḥ sakeyūraiḥ bhāti bhārata medinī |
ಸಂಜಯನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಓ ಭಾರತ! ಚಂದನಲೇಪಿತ, ಅಂಗದ-ಕೇಯೂರ ಹಾಗೂ ಸ್ವರ್ಣಾಭರಣಗಳಿಂದ ಅಲಂಕರಿತ, ರಕ್ಷಣಾ ಕೈಗವಸುಗಳೊಡನೆ ಇದ್ದ ವೀರರ ಕತ್ತರಿಸಿದ ಭುಜಗಳಿಂದ ಯುದ್ಧಭೂಮಿ ಭಯಂಕರವಾದ ಅದ್ಭುತ ಕಾಂತಿಯಿಂದ ಹೊಳೆಯುತ್ತಿದೆ।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the stark irony of war: ornaments, luxury, and outward refinement (sandal paste, gold, armlets) cannot prevent bodily destruction. It implicitly warns against mistaking external splendor for true security or righteousness, and it frames the battlefield as a place where the cost of violence becomes unmistakably visible.
Sañjaya describes to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the horrific yet ‘shining’ appearance of the battlefield, littered with severed arms of fallen warriors still bearing their ornaments and finery. The description intensifies the atmosphere of Karṇa Parva’s fighting by emphasizing both carnage and the tragic grandeur of kṣatriya warfare.