Shloka 62
अस्त्रयुद्धे द्रौणिपार्थसंघर्षः — Karṇa’s Bhārgavāstra and the Search for Yudhiṣṭhira
Chapter 45
विशालायतताम्राक्षै: पूर्णचन्द्रनिभाननै: । एषा भू: कीर्यते राज्ञां शिरोभिरपलायिनाम्
viśālāyatatāmrākṣaiḥ pūrṇacandranibhānanaiḥ | eṣā bhūḥ kīryate rājñāṁ śirobhir apalāyinām ||
संजय म्हणाला—रणातून न पळणाऱ्या राजांच्या छिन्न मस्तकांनी ही भूमी भरून जात आहे. त्या मस्तकांवर विशाल तांबूस नेत्र आणि पूर्णचंद्रासारखी मनोहर मुखाकृती अजूनही शोभत आहे.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ideal of the non-retreating warrior (apalāyin), but simultaneously exposes the ethical gravity of war: even noble steadfastness results in devastating loss, reminding the listener that valor and destruction can coexist.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield as being covered with the heads of kings who refused to flee. The poetic details—moonlike faces and reddish, wide eyes—intensify the scene’s pathos and the scale of slaughter.