Shloka 75
स वत्सदन्तै: पृथुपीनवक्षा: समाचित: सो<थिरथिर्विभाति । सुपुष्पिताशोकपलाशशाल्मलि- य॑थाचलक्षन्दनकाननायुत:
sa vatsadantaiḥ pṛthupīnavakṣāḥ samācitaḥ so 'thirathir vibhāti | supuṣpitāśokapalāśaśālmalī-yathācalakṣandanakānanāyutaḥ ||
വിസ്തൃതവും ദൃഢവുമായ വക്ഷസ്ഥലമുള്ള അധിരഥപുത്രൻ കർണൻ ‘വത്സദന്ത’ ബാണങ്ങളാൽ മുഴുവനും മൂടപ്പെട്ടിട്ടും ദീപ്തനായി തോന്നി—പുഷ്പിച്ച അശോകം, പലാശം, ശാൽമലി, ചന്ദനവനങ്ങൾ നിറഞ്ഞ ഒരു പർവ്വതംപോലെ.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ideal of steadfastness under suffering: even when wounded and surrounded by instruments of death, a warrior is praised for maintaining composure and radiance. Ethically, it reflects the epic’s tension between the horror of violence and the cultural valorization of courage and endurance in righteous combat.
Sañjaya reports that Karṇa’s body has been thoroughly pierced and covered by ‘Vatsadanta’ arrows. Despite the wounds, Karṇa appears splendid, and the poet uses a vivid nature-simile: he looks like a mountain adorned with blossoming forests—turning the battlefield image into a striking, tragic beauty.