Shloka 31
Duryodhana’s Anxiety, Bhīṣma’s Reassurance, and Renewed Mobilization (दुर्योधनचिन्ता–भीष्मप्रत्याश्वासन–सेनानिर्गमनम्)
अपेतशिशिरे काले समिद्धमिव पावकम् । अत्यरोचत सौभद्रस्तव सैन्यानि नाशयन्,महाराज! आपकी सेनाका संहार करता हुआ सुभद्राकुमार अभिमन्यु ग्रीष्म-ऋतुमें प्रज्वलित हुई प्रचण्ड अग्निसे भी बढ़कर शोभा पा रहा था
sañjaya uvāca | apeta-śiśire kāle samiddham iva pāvakam | atyarocata saubhadras tava sainyāni nāśayan mahārāja |
Sañjaya said: “O King, as though the chill of winter had departed, the son of Subhadrā (Abhimanyu), while destroying your troops, shone exceedingly—like a blazing fire fully kindled in the heat of summer.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma in its narrative form: disciplined courage and effectiveness in battle are portrayed as a kind of moral and martial radiance. At the same time, the imagery of fire underscores the ethical ambiguity of war—brilliance and devastation can arise together.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Abhimanyu (the son of Subhadrā) is cutting down the king’s troops and appears extraordinarily radiant, compared to a fiercely kindled fire blazing in the summer heat.