Shloka 27

कृष्णेन अर्जुनस्य प्रोत्साहनम् — Kṛṣṇa’s Exhortation to Arjuna

Prelude to Karṇa’s Slaying

Devanagari script

ते भुजा भोगिभोगाभाश्नन्दनाक्ता विशाम्पते । लोहितार्द्ा भृशं रेजुस्तपनीय ध्वजा इव

Transliteration

te bhujā bhogibhogābhāś candanāktā viśāmpate | lohitārdhā bhṛśaṁ rejus tapanīya-dhvajā iva, prajānātha |

Translation

三阇耶说道：“人民之主啊，许多臂膀涂着檀香膏，宛如蛇身盘绕，在战场上以惊人的劲势闪耀飞掠。血染其上，使它们更显辉煌，如同纯金的旗幡。”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'te', 'definition': 'those'}, {'term': 'bhujāḥ', 'definition': 'arms (of warriors)'}, {'term': 'bhogibhoga-ābhāḥ', 'definition': 'having the appearance of serpent-coils

• serpent-like in form'}, {'term': 'candanāktāḥ', 'definition': 'smeared/anointed with sandal paste'}, {'term': 'viśāmpate', 'definition': 'O lord of the people (address to Dhṛtarāṣṭra)'}, {'term': 'lohita-ārdhāḥ', 'definition': 'wet/soaked with blood

• blood-stained'}, {'term': 'bhṛśam', 'definition': 'exceedingly, greatly'}, {'term': 'rejuḥ', 'definition': 'they shone, they glittered'}, {'term': 'tapanīya', 'definition': 'gold (refined/pure gold)'}, {'term': 'dhvajāḥ', 'definition': 'banners, standards'}, {'term': 'iva', 'definition': 'like, as if'}, {'term': 'prajānātha', 'definition': 'O protector/lord of subjects (address to Dhṛtarāṣṭra)'}]

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• battlefield (raṇabhūmi)
• arms of warriors
• serpents (nāga/sarpa imagery)
• sandal paste (candana)
• golden banners (tapanīya-dhvaja)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the grim splendor of war: even what is culturally associated with refinement (sandal paste, gold) becomes entangled with bloodshed. By addressing the king as ‘lord of the people,’ the narration implicitly reminds him that royal decisions and attachments culminate in the suffering and dismemberment of subjects on the battlefield.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: severed or violently moving arms of warriors, anointed with sandal paste, appear like coiling serpents; once stained with blood, they gleam vividly, compared to golden banners.