Shloka 203
अन्धकार-रजःसंमूढे रणाङ्गणे प्रदीपप्रकाशः | Illumination of the Army in Darkness and Dust
चित्रायुथश्षित्रवर्मा समरे चित्रयोधिन: । उनके नाम इस प्रकार हैं--चित्र, उपचित्र, चित्राक्ष, चारुचित्र, शरासन, चित्रायुध और चित्रवर्मा। ये सब-के-सब समरभूमिमें विचित्र रीतिसे युद्ध करनेवाले थे
citrāyudhaś citravarmā samare citrayodhinaḥ | teṣāṃ nāmāni yathā—citraḥ, upacitraḥ, citrākṣaḥ, cārucitraḥ, śarāsanaḥ, citrāyudhaḥ, citravarmā | ete sarve samarabhūmau vicitra-rītyā yuddha-kāriṇaḥ |
قال سانجيا: كان سِترَايوذَها وسِترَفَرما محاربين ذوي أساليب شتّى لافتة في القتال. وأسماؤهم: سِترَا، وأوبَسِترَا، وسِترَاكشا، وتشاروسِترَا، وشاراسَنَ، وسِترَايوذَها، وسِترَفَرما. وكلّهم كانوا يقاتلون في ساحة الوغى بحيلٍ غير مألوفة وبراعةٍ كأنها فنّ.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse does not give a direct moral injunction; its implicit lesson is that war amplifies human ingenuity into tactical variety, which can be admirable as skill yet ethically ambiguous because such cleverness serves destruction. It also reflects the epic’s habit of naming warriors to honor their agency and responsibility within dharma-bound conflict.
Sanjaya is reporting to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, listing a group of named fighters—Citra and others—describing them collectively as combatants who fight in diverse, striking ways on the battlefield, as part of the broader Drona Parva battle narration.