Shloka 42
आदीप्तमिव तत् सैन्यं शरैश्छिन्नतनुच्छदम् । आसीत् सुशोणितक्लिन्नं फुल्लाशोकवनं यथा
ādīptam iva tat sainyaṃ śaraiś chinna-tanu-cchadam | āsīt suśoṇita-klinnaṃ phullāśoka-vanaṃ yathā ||
اُس وقت وہ لشکر گویا شعلہ زن دکھائی دیتا تھا۔ تیروں نے اُن کے زرہ و پوشاک کو چاک چاک کر دیا تھا، اور خون میں تر ہو کر وہ کھلے ہوئے اشوک کے بن کی مانند نظر آتا تھا۔
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse offers no direct injunction but conveys an ethical reflection through imagery: war’s splendor is illusory—what seems ‘ablaze’ is actually a host torn by weapons and soaked in blood. The poetic comparison to a blossoming aśoka grove heightens the contrast between natural beauty and human-made devastation, prompting discernment about the true cost of violence.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the appearance of the battlefield: the army looks as if it is burning; arrows have shredded its protective coverings (armor), and the troops are drenched in blood, creating a vivid, almost surreal scene likened to a flowering aśoka forest.