Shloka 33
Adhyāya 18 — Sequential Duels and Formation Pressure
Ulūka–Yuyutsu; Śakuni–Sutasoma; Kṛpa–Dhṛṣṭadyumna; Kṛtavarmā–Śikhaṇḍin
जातरूपमयीश्ष्टी: पट्टिशान् हेमभूषितान् । दण्डै: कनकचित्रैश्व विप्रविद्धान् परश्वधान्,'सोनेके बने हुए प्रास, सुवर्णभूषित शक्तियाँ, सोनेके पत्रोंसे जड़ी हुई विशाल गदाएँ, स्वर्णमयी ऋष्टि, सुवर्णभूषित पट्टिश तथा स्वर्णचित्रित दंडोंके साथ बहुत-से फरसे फेंके पड़े हैं, इनपर दृष्टिपात करो
jātarūpamayī r̥ṣṭiḥ paṭṭiśān hemabhūṣitān | daṇḍaiḥ kanakacitraiś ca vipraviddhān paraśvadhān ||
Sañjaya said: “Look—there lie weapons cast down in heaps: a spear made wholly of gold, paṭṭiśa-blades adorned with gold, staffs inlaid with golden designs, and axes hurled away. The battlefield is strewn with richly ornamented arms, showing how fierce the clash has been and how wealth and pride are rendered meaningless amid slaughter.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the futility of external grandeur in war: even gold-adorned weapons end up discarded on blood-soaked ground, hinting at the impermanence of wealth and the moral cost of violence.
Sañjaya is describing to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the battlefield scene—numerous ornate weapons (spears, paṭṭiśas, staffs, axes) have been hurled and now lie scattered, conveying the intensity and devastation of the fighting.