Shloka 15
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 50 — Arjuna’s foreboding and lament for Abhimanyu; Kṛṣṇa’s dharma-consolation
अपेतविध्वस्तमहार्ह भूषणं निपातितं शक्रसमं महाबलम् । रणे5भिमन्युं ददृुशुस्तदा जना व्यपोढहव्यं सदसीव पावकम्
apetavidhvastamahārhabhūṣaṇaṁ nipātitaṁ śakrasamaṁ mahābalam | raṇe 'bhimanyuṁ dadṛśus tadā janā vyapoḍhahavyaṁ sadasīva pāvakam ||
Sañjaya sprach: Da sah das Volk Abhimanyu auf dem Schlachtfeld gefallen — seiner kostbaren Schmuckstücke beraubt und zerstreut — jenen mächtigen Kämpfer, der Indra an Kraft geglichen hatte. Er lag dort wie das Opferfeuer in der Versammlung, nachdem die Gaben weggenommen sind: einst strahlend und verehrt, nun entblößt zurückgelassen.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts Abhimanyu’s former splendor with his fallen state to highlight the moral cost of war: even the most worthy and radiant can be stripped of honor and left desolate. The simile of a sacrificial fire without oblations underscores impermanence and the ethical dissonance when violence empties life of its sanctity.
Sañjaya describes how onlookers on the battlefield see Abhimanyu lying dead, his precious ornaments removed and scattered. He is compared to a sacrificial fire in an assembly after offerings have been taken away—an evocative image of a once-glorious presence now rendered empty and abandoned.