Shloka 21
Nakula’s Engagement with Citra-sena and Karṇa’s Sons; Śalya Re-stabilizes the Kaurava Host
राजन! खुले नेत्रोंवाले प्राणशून्य घायल मस्तकोंसे ढकी हुई पृथ्वी लाल कमलोंसे आच्छादित हुई-सी शोभा पाती थी ।।
bāhubhiḥ śvandanādigdhaiḥ sakeyūraiḥ mahādhanaiḥ | patitair bhāti rājendra mahāśakradhvajair iva ||
Sañjaya disse: Ó rei, o campo de batalha reluzia com braços decepados—untados de pasta de sândalo e ainda ornados com braçadeiras e joias preciosas—caídos sobre a terra como os altos mastros do estandarte de Indra. Nesse espetáculo terrível, os sinais de riqueza e requinte tornaram-se emblemas de ruína, revelando como a guerra subverte o esplendor mundano e reduz o orgulho a uma exibição sem vida.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the fragility of worldly splendor: ornaments, wealth, and cultivated refinement (sandal paste, armlets) cannot protect life. In war, what once signified status becomes a mute sign of destruction, urging reflection on pride, attachment, and the ethical cost of violence.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: severed arms, still decorated with costly armlets and smeared with sandal paste, lie scattered on the ground. Their upright, banner-like appearance evokes a simile—like Indra’s great standards—heightening the tragic grandeur of the scene.