Shloka 1736

काकोपमोपदेशः

The Crow-and-Swan Exemplum as Counsel to Karṇa

Devanagari script

विरेजतुर्महाराज किंशुकाविव पुष्पितौ । वे दोनों महारथी एक-दूसरेका अन्तर (प्रहार करनेका अवसर) ढूँढ़ते हुए रणभूमिमें विचर रहे थे। महाराज! धनुषको पूर्णतः खींचकर छोड़े गये बाणोंद्वारा वे दोनों वीर क्षत- विक्षत होकर फूले हुए दो पलाश-वृक्षोंके समान शोभा पा रहे थे

Transliteration

virejatur mahārāja kiṃśukāv iva puṣpitau |

Translation

Disse Sañjaya: Ó rei, aqueles dois grandes guerreiros de carro resplandeciam como árvores kiṃśuka em plena floração. Vagueando pelo campo de batalha, cada qual buscava uma abertura para ferir o outro; e, embora dilacerados e cobertos de feridas por flechas soltas de arcos retesados ao máximo, adquiriam um esplendor sombrio, como duas palāśa em flor.

Word by Word

• विरेजतुः: they shone
• विरेजतुः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: राज् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्शभूत/परफेक्ट), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथम, द्विवचन

• महा-राज: O great king
• महा-राज: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• किंशुकौ: two palāśa/kimsuka trees
• किंशुकौ: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: किंशुक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन

• इव: like/as
• इव: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• पुष्पितौ: in bloom, flowered
• पुष्पितौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुष्पित (प्रातिपदिक; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त विशेषण)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Mahārāja (Dhṛtarāṣṭra, implied addressee)
• kiṃśuka (tree)
• battlefield (raṇabhūmi, implied by context)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethical tension: martial excellence can appear beautiful in poetic description, yet it is inseparable from suffering. The simile of blossoming trees suggests how war can aesthetically ‘flower’ while morally remaining a scene of injury and loss.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes two great chariot-warriors moving about the battlefield, each searching for an opening to strike. Though wounded by volleys of arrows shot from fully drawn bows, they still appear radiant—compared to kiṃśuka/palāśa trees in bloom.