Shloka 39
Adhyāya 18 — Sequential Duels and Formation Pressure
Ulūka–Yuyutsu; Śakuni–Sutasoma; Kṛpa–Dhṛṣṭadyumna; Kṛtavarmā–Śikhaṇḍin
बाहुभिश्वन्दनादिग्धै: साड़दै: शुभभूषणै: । सतलन्रै: सकेयूरैभाति भारत मेदिनी
bāhubhiś candanādigdhaiḥ sāṅgadaiḥ śubhabhūṣaṇaiḥ | satalanraiḥ sakeyūraiḥ bhāti bhārata medinī ||
সঞ্জয় বললেন—হে ভারত! চন্দনে লেপা, বাহুবন্ধ ও শুভ অলংকারে ভূষিত, দস্তানা ও কেয়ূরধারী ছিন্ন বাহুতে এই ভূমি এক অদ্ভুত দীপ্তিতে ঝলমল করছে।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the impermanence of worldly splendor: ornaments, perfumes, and marks of status cannot protect life in war, and what once signified honor becomes a grim spectacle on the battlefield.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the horrific scene of the battle: the ground appears ‘splendid’ only because it is strewn with severed, ornamented arms of fallen warriors, highlighting the scale and brutality of the fighting.