Mahabharata 7.173.34 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 173, Shloka 34
Śiva’s Battlefield Manifestation and Vyāsa’s Śatarudrīya Exposition (शिवप्रादुर्भावः शतरुद्रीयव्याख्यानम्)
निष्कचूडामणिधरै: क्षत्रियाणां प्रियंवदै: । पड़कजैरिव विन्यस्तै: पतितैर्विबभौ मही
niṣkacūḍāmaṇidharaiḥ kṣatriyāṇāṃ priyaṃvadaiḥ | paḍakajair iva vinyastaiḥ patitair vibabhau mahī ||
Sañjaya disse: A terra brilhava com as cabeças caídas dos kṣatriyas — homens que usavam ornamentos de ouro e joias de crista e eram conhecidos por palavras agradáveis — espalhadas como se flores de lótus tivessem sido dispostas no chão. A imagem acentua a trágica ironia da guerra: os outrora adornados e corteses são reduzidos a troféus sem vida, e a ‘beleza’ do campo é um espetáculo sombrio nascido do massacre.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores impermanence and the moral cost of war: worldly adornment, status, and courteous speech cannot shield anyone from death. The ‘beauty’ of the battlefield is presented as a disturbing irony, prompting reflection on the ethical weight of kṣatriya warfare and the suffering it entails.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the battlefield ground appears ‘splendid’ because severed heads of warrior-kṣatriyas—once ornamented with gold and jewels—lie scattered everywhere, likened to lotus-flowers spread on the earth.
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