Shloka 126
Virāṭa Rescued from Suśarmā; Night Battle and Royal Gratitude (विराटमोक्षणं सुशर्मवधाभिमुखं च)
अदृश्यत शिरश्कछिन्नं रजोध्वस्तं सकुण्डलम् । बातकी बातमें, कुण्डलोंसहित कटे हुए कितने ही मस्तक धूलमें लोटने लगे। किसीकी नाक बड़ी सुन्दर थी, परन्तु ऊपरका ओठ कट गया था। कोई अलंकारोंसे अलंकृत था, किंतु उसका केशभाग कटकर उड़ गया था
adṛśyata śiraśchinnaṁ rajodhvastaṁ sakuṇḍalam |
Vaiśampāyana said: Severed heads, still wearing their earrings, were seen rolling and lying in the dust, fouled by the earth raised in battle. The scene underscores the grim cost of violence: even beauty, ornament, and identity are reduced to lifeless fragments amid the chaos of combat.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the stark impermanence of bodily beauty and worldly adornment in the face of violence. It implicitly cautions against glamorizing war: ornaments and identity markers remain, but life is gone, emphasizing the ethical gravity and human cost of conflict.
Vaiśampāyana describes a battlefield aftermath where severed heads—still bearing earrings—are visible in the dust. The imagery intensifies the horror and realism of combat, portraying the chaos and devastation left by fighting.