Санджая
ताव् अन्योन्यं शरैः कृत्तौ व्यराजेतां नरर्षभौ ॥
सुपुष्पौ पुष्पसमये पुष्पिताव् इव किंशुकौ ॥
रुधिरोक्षितसर्वाङ्गौ कुरुवृष्णियशस्करौ ॥
परस्परम् अवेक्षेतां दहन्ताव् इव लोचनैः ॥
रथमण्डलमार्गेषु चरन्ताव् अरिमर्दनौ ॥
घोररूपौ हि ताव् आस्तां वृष्टिमन्ताव् इवाम्बुदौ ॥
शरसंभिन्नगात्रौ तौ सर्वतः शकलीकृतौ ॥
श्वाविधाव् इव राजेन्द्र व्यदृष्येतां शरक्षतौ ॥
tāv anyonyaṃ śaraiḥ kṛttau vyarājetāṃ nararṣabhau ||
supuṣpau puṣpasamaye puṣpitāv iva kiṃśukau ||
rudhirokṣitasarvāṅgau kuruvṛṣṇiyaśaskarau ||
parasparam avekṣetāṃ dahantāv iva locanaiḥ ||
rathamaṇḍalamārgeṣu carantāv arimardanau ||
ghorarūpau hi tāv āstāṃ vṛṣṭimantāv ivāmbudau ||
śarasaṃbhinnagātrau tau sarvataḥ śakalīkṛtau ||
śvāvidhāv iva rājendra vyadṛṣyetāṃ śarakṣatau ||
Both, riddled with each other's arrows, those bulls among men gleamed like two kimshuka trees in blossom-time. Their bodies bathed in blood, those framers of the fame of the Kurus and Vrishnis gazed at each other as though scorching one another with their glances. Wheeling along the circling paths of the chariots, those crushers of foes were fearsome to behold, like two thunderclouds. With bodies pierced through and studded with arrows on every side, they appeared, wounded, like two porcupines, O lord of kings.
5a82bcaedb91 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:40:45 PM UTC
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The verse turns the wounded warriors' disfigurement into beauty: pierced with arrows, they bloom like kimshuka trees in crimson flower, shining rather than fading. It is telling that wounds are transfigured into ornament — the ancient view sees in a warrior's wounds not disfigurement but the marks of duty fulfilled. Yet in the same breath it soberly calls them porcupines, bristling with arrows: the beauty of heroism cannot be separated from its cruelty. The verse teaches that valor and pain on the battlefield are inseparably interwoven.