Shloka 50
Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 19 — Saṃśaptaka–Trigarta Assault and Aindra-astra Counter
स पादशो राक्षसभोजनान् बहून् प्रदाय पाण्ड्यो5श्वमनुष्यकुञ्जरान् । स्वधामिवाप्य ज्वलनः पितृप्रिय- सतत: प्रशान्त: सलिलप्रवाहत:
sa pādaśo rākṣasa-bhojanān bahūn pradāya pāṇḍyo’śva-manuṣya-kuñjarān | svadhāmivāpya jvalanaḥ pitṛ-priyaḥ satataḥ praśāntaḥ salila-pravāhataḥ ||
Sañjaya disse: O rei Pāṇḍya, tendo retalhado cavalos, homens e elefantes, deu-os em abundância como alimento aos rākṣasas. Então, atingido pela flecha de Aśvatthāmā, ficou para sempre aquietado—como o fogo da pira funerária, caro aos ancestrais: ao receber o corpo morto, ele se inflama, o consome e, por fim, se acalma quando se derrama água sobre ele.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the grim moral texture of war: even extraordinary martial ferocity culminates in inevitable stillness. The simile of the funeral fire suggests that violence ‘consumes’ until it is finally quenched—hinting at the transient, self-extinguishing nature of wrath and battle, and the inescapability of death.
Sañjaya describes the Pāṇḍya king’s fierce fighting—dismembering horses, men, and elephants and leaving abundant flesh as rākṣasa-food—until he is finally struck down by Aśvatthāmā’s arrow and becomes motionless, compared to a pyre-fire that blazes and then is extinguished by water.