Shloka 22

कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५७

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

Devanagari script

साड्रलिन्रैर्भुजाग्रैश्न विप्रविद्धरलंकृतै:,पतितैर्ऋषषभाक्षाणां विराजति वसुंधरा । साँड़के समान विशाल नेत्रोंवाले वेगशाली वीरोंके दस्तानोंसहित आभूषणभूषित हाथ कटकर गिरे हैं। हाथियोंके शुण्डदण्डोंके समान मोटी जाँघें खण्डित होकर पड़ी हैं तथा श्रेष्ठ चूड़ामणि धारण किये कुण्डलमण्डित मस्तक भी धड़से अलग होकर पड़े हैं। इन सबके द्वारा रणभूमिकी अपूर्व शोभा हो रही है

Transliteration

sa-āṅgulīrbhujāgrāiś ca vipraviddhair alaṅkṛtaiḥ, patitaiḥ ṛṣaṣabhākṣāṇāṁ virājati vasuṁdharā |

Translation

ಸಂಜಯನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಆಭರಣಗಳಿಂದ ಅಲಂಕರಿತವಾಗಿ, ಯುದ್ಧದಲ್ಲಿ ಚೀರಲ್ಪಟ್ಟು ಬಿದ್ದ—ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ವೃಷಭದಂತೆ ವಿಶಾಲ ನೇತ್ರಗಳಿರುವ ವೀರರ—ಛಿನ್ನ ಭುಜಾಗ್ರಗಳಿಂದ ಭೂಮಿ ವಿಚಿತ್ರವಾದ, ಭೀಕರವಾದ ಕాంతಿಯಿಂದ ಮಿನುಗಿತು.

Word by Word

साड्रलिन्रैःby/with sādralinra-s

भुजाग्रैःby/with the tips/foreparts of arms

चand

विप्रविद्धैःpierced, struck through

अलंकृतैःadorned, ornamented

पतितैःfallen

ऋषषभाक्षाणाम्of those whose eyes are like a bull among sages (i.e., very large/beautiful-eyed)

विराजतिshines, is splendid

वसुंधराthe earth, the ground

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

earth (vasuṁdharā)

severed hands/arms

ornaments (ābharaṇa/alaṅkāra implied)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the impermanence of physical prowess and worldly adornment: even the most splendid, heroic bodies are reduced to lifeless fragments in war. It implicitly challenges any romanticization of battle by presenting its stark, dehumanizing aftermath.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield after intense fighting: the ground is covered with severed, ornamented hands and other bodily remains of powerful warriors, making the earth appear ‘splendid’ in a grim, horrific sense.