Shloka 39
कर्ण-पाण्डव-संमर्दः — Karṇa and Arjuna’s Intensified Engagement
ताभ्यां मुक्ता: शरा राजन गार्ध्रपत्राश्चकाशिरे । श्रेण्य: शरदि मत्तानां सारसानामिवाम्बरे,राजन! उन दोनोंके छोड़े हुए गीधकी पाँखवाले बाण शरद्-ऋतुके आकाशमें मतवाले सारसोंकी श्रेणियोंके समान सुशोभित होते थे
tābhyāṁ muktāḥ śarā rājan gārdhrapatrāś cakāśire | śreṇyaḥ śaradi mattānāṁ sārasānām ivāmbare ||
Sañjaya berkata: Wahai Raja, anak panah yang dilepaskan oleh kedua-duanya—berbulu sayap burung hering—bersinar cemerlang, tampak di langit musim luruh seperti barisan bangau yang mabuk terbang teratur. Perumpamaan ini meninggikan keindahan adegan di tengah keganasan, memperlihatkan bagaimana kemahiran perang dapat menjadikan medan tempur seakan tontonan alam, namun tetap berkhidmat kepada tujuan perang yang muram.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how epic narration can present even warfare through refined poetic vision: beauty and order (crane-flights in autumn) are invoked to describe deadly weapons, reminding readers that skill and aesthetic perception do not erase the ethical weight of violence but frame it within the larger tragic grandeur of dharma-conflict.
Sañjaya describes arrows shot by two warriors; the vulture-feathered shafts gleam as they fly in formation, and their movement across the sky is compared to lines of cranes in the autumn season.