Shloka 8
कर्णपर्व — चतुर्दशोऽध्यायः
Arjuna’s Suppression of the Saṃśaptakas; Kṛṣṇa’s Strategic Admonition; Battlefield Inventory
ललाटस्थैस्ततो बाणै्राह्रिणोडसौ व्यशोभत । प्रावषीव यथा सिक्तस्त्रिशुद्भ: पर्वतोत्तम:
lalāṭasthaiḥ tato bāṇair āhṛṇod asau vyaśobhata | prāvṛṣīva yathā siktaḥ triśṛṅgaḥ parvatottamaḥ ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Kemudian, dengan tiga anak panah yang tertancap di dahinya, orang itu tampak bersinar dengan keindahan yang ganjil dan menggetarkan—laksana gunung agung bertiga puncak, basah kuyup disiram hujan musim tengkujuh.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethical tension: in war, bodily wounds become visible signs of destiny and endurance. The poetic comparison does not glorify violence itself; it frames the warrior’s (or combatant’s) bearing of injury as a stark emblem of steadfastness amid adharma-prone circumstances.
Sañjaya describes a combatant who has been struck so that arrows remain embedded in his forehead. Rather than depicting only pain, the narration emphasizes his uncanny, awe-inspiring appearance, likening him to a lofty three-peaked mountain soaked by monsoon rains.