Shloka 69
अध्याय ६० — कर्णस्य पाञ्चाल-सोमक-निग्रहः
Karna’s Suppression of the Panchala–Somaka Forces
अशोभत मही तत्र विशीर्णरिव पर्वतै: | गिरे और गिरते हुए सुवर्णभूषित हाथियोंसे ढकी हुई रणभूमि ऐसी शोभा पा रही थी, मानो वहाँ ढेर-के-ढेर पर्वत-खण्ड बिखरे पड़े हों ।।
sañjaya uvāca |
aśobhata mahī tatra viśīrṇar iva parvataiḥ |
dīptābhai ratnavad dhiśva patitair gajayodhibhiḥ ||
Sañjaya nói: Ở đó, mặt đất rực sáng như thể bị rải đầy những khối núi vỡ vụn. Chiến địa phủ kín những chiến tượng ngã gục—được trang sức bằng vàng, lấp lánh như châu báu—trông như những đống đỉnh núi gãy nát nằm ngổn ngang.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse conveys the impermanence of worldly splendor: even jewel-like, gold-adorned symbols of royal power (war-elephants) become lifeless heaps. It implicitly warns that war turns magnificence into ruin, inviting reflection on the ethical cost of violence.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the दृश्य of the battlefield: the ground is covered with fallen elephants, whose massive bodies make the earth look as if broken mountain fragments are scattered everywhere.