Shloka 346
अध्याय २६ — शल्यस्य सारथ्य-नियोजनं, कर्णस्य प्रस्थानं, उत्पातदर्शनं च
Chapter 26: Śalya appointed as charioteer; Karṇa’s departure; portents
शिरांस्युरव्यामदृश्यन्त ताराजालमिवाम्बरे । पृथ्वीपर गिरे हुए कुण्डल और सुन्दर नेत्रोंसे युक्त पूर्ण चन्द्रमाके समान मनोहर मस्तक आकाशकमें ताराओंके समूहकी भाँति दिखायी देते थे
śirāṁsy urvyām adṛśyanta tārājālam ivāmbare | pṛthvīpare gire huye kuṇḍala aur sundara netroṁ se yukta pūrṇa-candramā ke samāna manohara mastaka ākāśa meṁ tārāoṁ ke samūha kī bhānti dikhāyī dete the |
Sañjaya said: On the earth, severed heads were seen scattered about, appearing like a net of stars in the sky. Those charming heads—fallen to the ground, still adorned with earrings and marked by beautiful eyes—looked like full moons, and together they seemed like a constellation of stars. The passage heightens the moral weight of war: even the noble and beautiful are reduced to lifeless fragments, exposing the terrible cost of violence and the fragility of worldly splendor.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical and existential cost of war: beauty, status, and adornment cannot protect life. By comparing fallen heads to moons and stars, it intensifies the contrast between celestial splendor and battlefield horror, prompting reflection on impermanence and the grave consequences of violence.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene: severed heads lie scattered on the ground, some still with earrings and striking eyes. Their bright, rounded appearance evokes full moons, and in multitude they resemble a starry cluster—an image that conveys both the scale of slaughter and its chilling aftermath.