Shloka 143
Virāṭa Rescued from Suśarmā; Night Battle and Royal Gratitude (विराटमोक्षणं सुशर्मवधाभिमुखं च)
आस्तीर्णा वसुधा भाति शिरोभिश्व सकुण्डलै: । सर्पोंके शरीरकी भाँति सुशोभित चन्दनचर्चित भुजाओं तथा कुण्डलमण्डित मस्तकोंसे पटी हुई रणभूमि अपूर्व शोभा धारण कर रही थी
āstīrṇā vasudhā bhāti śirobhiś ca sakuṇḍalaiḥ | sarpāṅga iva suśobhitā candanacarcita-bhujaiḥ kuṇḍala-maṇḍita-mastakaiś ca pṛthivī raṇabhūmiḥ apūrvāṃ śobhāṃ dhārayati |
Vaiśampāyana said: The earth lay strewn and yet shone—covered with severed heads adorned with earrings. The battlefield, carpeted with sandalwood-smeared arms and heads decked with ornaments, took on an uncanny, unprecedented splendor, like the patterned body of a serpent. The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s stark moral tension: the same marks of culture and refinement (perfume, jewelry) become, in war, ornaments of death—beauty turned into a grim testimony to violence and impermanence.
वैशम्पायन उवाच