Shloka 1736

काकोपमोपदेशः

The Crow-and-Swan Exemplum as Counsel to Karṇa

Devanagari script

विरेजतुर्महाराज किंशुकाविव पुष्पितौ । वे दोनों महारथी एक-दूसरेका अन्तर (प्रहार करनेका अवसर) ढूँढ़ते हुए रणभूमिमें विचर रहे थे। महाराज! धनुषको पूर्णतः खींचकर छोड़े गये बाणोंद्वारा वे दोनों वीर क्षत- विक्षत होकर फूले हुए दो पलाश-वृक्षोंके समान शोभा पा रहे थे

Transliteration

virejatur mahārāja kiṃśukāv iva puṣpitau |

Translation

संजय म्हणाला—महाराज! ते दोन्ही महारथी रणभूमीत एकमेकांवर प्रहार करण्याची संधी शोधत फिरत होते. पूर्ण ताणलेल्या धनुष्यांतून सुटलेल्या बाणांनी ते दोघेही क्षत-विक्षत झाले तरी फुललेल्या पलाशवृक्षांसारखे, जणू पुष्पित किंशुकाप्रमाणे, शोभून दिसत होते.

Word by Word

विरेजतुःthey shone

महा-राजO great king

किंशुकौtwo palāśa/kimsuka trees

इवlike/as

पुष्पितौin bloom, flowered

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Mahārāja (Dhṛtarāṣṭra, implied addressee)

kiṃśuka (tree)

battlefield (raṇabhūmi, implied by context)

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 highlights the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethical tension: martial excellence can appear beautiful in poetic description, yet it is inseparable from suffering. The simile of blossoming trees suggests how war can aesthetically ‘flower’ while morally remaining a scene of injury and loss.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes two great chariot-warriors moving about the battlefield, each searching for an opening to strike. Though wounded by volleys of arrows shot from fully drawn bows, they still appear radiant—compared to kiṃśuka/palāśa trees in bloom.