Shloka 20
अभिमन्योर् विक्रमः — Abhimanyu’s Disruptive Advance and the Gāndharva-astra Counter
काज्चनं यद्यदस्यासीद् वर्म चाभरणानि च । धनुषश्च शराणां च तदपश्याम केवलम्
kāñcanaṁ yadyad asyāsīd varma cābharaṇāni ca | dhanuṣaś ca śarāṇāṁ ca tad apaśyāma kevalam ||
Sañjaya said: “All that I could see of him was only what was golden—his armor and ornaments, and his bow and arrows.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, amid the chaos of war, perception narrows to striking external signs—here, the gleam of gold and the unmistakable marks of a warrior (armor, ornaments, bow, arrows). It implicitly contrasts outward splendor with the grim reality of battle, reminding the listener that martial glory is often seen first as appearance and equipment rather than inner worth.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra what he could discern on the battlefield: he saw only the golden elements associated with a particular warrior—his armor and ornaments, along with his bow and arrows—suggesting either distance, dust, speed, or the overwhelming brilliance of the warrior’s gear dominating the scene.