Shloka 56

कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke

Devanagari script

संतस्तार क्षितिं क्षिप्रं विनालैनलिनैरिव । धनंजयने अपने तीखे भल्लोंसे वीरोंके सुन्दर नेत्र

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | saṃtastāra kṣitiṃ kṣipraṃ vinālainalinair iva | dhanañjayena apane tīkṣṇaiḥ bhallaiḥ vīrāṇāṃ sundara-netra-bhrū-danta-śobhitān pūrṇa-candramā-samaṃ manohara-mukhavālīn mastakān chittvā-chittvā tatraiva bhūmiṃ kṣaṇena pātayām āsa, yathā tatra vināla-kamalāni bistaritāni syuḥ ||

Translation

三阇耶说道：檀那ंज耶（阿周那）以剃刀般锋利的婆罗箭，迅疾地一再斩落诸勇士之首——那些头颅具俊美之眼、眉与齿，面容皎洁如满月——顷刻间便铺满彼处大地，宛如无茎莲花散落其上。

Word by Word

• संततार: covered, spread over
• Type: Verb
• Root: संतॄ (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3, Singular, Parasmaipada

• क्षितिम्: the earth, ground
• क्षितिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षिति
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• क्षिप्रम्: quickly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्षिप्र

• विना: without
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विना

• नालैः: with stalks (stems)
• नालैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाल
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• नलिनैः: with lotuses
• नलिनैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नलिन
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• इव: as if, like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• धनंजय / अर्जुन (Dhanañjaya / Arjuna)
• भल्ल (bhalla arrows)
• क्षितिः / भूमिः (earth/ground)
• नलिन / कमल (lotus)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the paradox of righteous warfare: a kṣatriya’s duty may demand decisive force, yet the poetic imagery also makes the human cost unmistakable, inviting reflection on dharma performed amid tragic consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Arjuna’s battlefield feat: with sharp bhalla arrows he repeatedly beheads opposing warriors, so that the ground appears covered with severed heads, compared to a spread of stemless lotuses.