Shloka 50
भीष्मस्य मध्याह्नयुद्धवर्णनम् / Mid-day Battle Description: Bhīṣma Engaged by the Pāñcālas
हस्तिदन्तत्सरून् खड्गाज्जातरूपपरिष्कृतान् | चर्माणि चापविद्धानि रुक्मचित्राणि धन्विनाम्
hastidantatsarūn khaḍgājjātarūpapariṣkṛtān | carmāṇi cāpaviddhāni rukmacitrāṇi dhanvinām ||
Sañjaya sprach: „Wir sahen auf dem Schlachtfeld die Schwerter der Bogenschützen weggeworfen daliegen—Schwerter mit Griffen aus Elefantenelfenbein und mit Gold eingelegt. Ebenso lagen ihre Schilde verlassen umher, mit Gold geschmückt und mit kunstvollen Mustern verziert.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the stark contrast between royal splendor and the ruin of war: even exquisitely crafted weapons and shields—symbols of power and status—end up discarded on the battlefield, pointing to the fragility of worldly grandeur amid violence.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra what is seen on the field: archers’ swords with ivory hilts and gold ornamentation, and their decorated shields, lie thrown down—an image of the battle’s intensity and the scattering of arms.