Shloka 33
Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 20 — Yudhiṣṭhira–Duryodhana Encounter and Escalation of Arms
पेतुरन्योन्यनिहता व्यसवो रुधिरोक्षिता: । क्षरन्त: सुरसं रक्त प्रकृत्ताश्नन्दना इव,जैसे लाल चन्दनके वृक्ष कट जानेपर रक्त वर्णका रस बहाने लगते हैं, उसी प्रकार परस्परके आघातसे मारे गये योद्धा खूनसे लथपथ एवं प्राणशून्य होकर युद्धभूमिमें पड़े थे और अपने अंगोंसे रक्त बहा रहे थे
petur anyonya-nihitā vyasavo rudhirokṣitāḥ | kṣarantaḥ surasaṃ raktaṃ prakṛttāś candanā iva ||
Sañjaya said: Struck down by one another, the warriors fell upon the battlefield—lifeless and drenched in blood. From their bodies blood streamed forth, as when red sandalwood trees, once cut, begin to exude their richly colored sap. The scene underscores the grim moral cost of war: mutual violence reduces even the mighty to inert bodies, and the earth is made to drink the price of wrath and rivalry.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse offers a stark ethical reflection through imagery: in war, mutual aggression annihilates both sides, leaving only lifeless bodies and flowing blood. The sandalwood simile intensifies the sense of irreversible loss—once cut, even what is precious yields only its sap—suggesting that violence extracts a costly ‘essence’ from life and dignity.
Sañjaya describes the immediate aftermath of fierce fighting: warriors, killed by each other’s blows, lie dead on the battlefield, soaked in blood, with blood still streaming from their limbs. He compares this to felled red-sandalwood trees that ooze red sap when cut.