Shloka 6
Jayadratha-rakṣā: Conch Signals and Encirclement of Arjuna
Chapter 79
शयनीयं पुरा यस्य स्पर्थ्यास्तरणसंवृतम् । भूमावद्य कथं शेषे विप्रविद्ध: सुखोचित:,“हाय! पहले जिसके शयन करनेके लिये बहुमूल्य बिछौनेसे ढकी हुई शय्या बिछायी जाती थी, वही बेटा अभिमन्यु सुख भोगनेके योग्य होकर भी आज बाणविद्ध शरीरसे भूतलपर कैसे सो रहा होगा?
śayanīyaṃ purā yasya spardhyāstaraṇasaṃvṛtam | bhūmāv adya kathaṃ śete vipraviddhaḥ sukhocitaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “He for whom, in earlier days, a bed fit for rest was spread and covered with precious bedding—how is that very Abhimanyu, worthy of comfort, lying today upon the bare earth, his body pierced by arrows?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical and emotional cost of war: worldly privilege and rightful comfort can be overturned instantly by violence. It invites reflection on impermanence and compassion, and on how dharma in war still leaves behind profound human suffering.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, laments Abhimanyu’s fate: once accustomed to a luxurious bed, he now lies on the battlefield ground, his body riddled with arrows—an image intensifying the tragedy of his death.