Shloka 47
Śalya’s Objection to Sārathya and Duryodhana’s Conciliation (शल्यमन्यु-प्रशमनम् / Sārathyāṅgīkāra)
परिवेषमनुप्राप्तो यथा स्याद् व्योम्नि चन्द्रमा: । यथैव चासितो मेघ: शक्रचापेन शोभित:
sañjaya uvāca |
pariveṣam anuprāpto yathā syād vyomni candramāḥ |
yathaiva cāsito meghaḥ śakracāpena śobhitaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, Nakula—bearing that great bow resting at his neck—shone with a striking beauty, like the moon in the sky when encircled by a halo, or like a dark cloud made splendid by the arc of Indra’s rainbow.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily heightens the ethical-narrative mood of the war by portraying a warrior’s splendor through cosmic imagery: even amid violence, the epic frames kṣatriya duty and martial readiness with a sense of order, omen, and grandeur—suggesting that disciplined valor can appear ‘radiant’ when aligned with one’s role.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Nakula, with a great bow positioned at his neck/shoulder, appears exceptionally resplendent. To convey this, he uses two similes: the moon encircled by a halo and a dark cloud beautified by a rainbow.