Shloka 41
विना किरीटं शुशुभे स पार्थ: श्यामो युवा नील इवोच्चशूड्र: । ततः समुद्ग्रथ्य सितेन वाससा स्वमूर्थजानव्यथितस्तदार्जुन: | विभासित: सूर्यमरीचिना दृढं शिरोगतेनोदयपर्वतो यथा
vinā kirīṭaṁ śuśubhe sa pārthaḥ śyāmo yuvā nīla ivoccacūḍraḥ | tataḥ samudgrathya sitena vāsasā svamūrdhajān vyathitas tadārjunaḥ | vibhāsitaḥ sūryamarīcinā dṛḍhaṁ śirogatenodayaparvato yathā ||
Sañjaya said: Deprived of his diadem, that son of Pṛthā shone forth—dark-hued, youthful—like a tall blue-crested peak. Then Arjuna, pained at the loss of his own head-ornament, bound his hair up with a white cloth; and with the sun’s rays striking upon his head, he blazed steadily, like a mountain at sunrise whose summit has caught the light.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
External emblems of status (like a diadem) may be lost in the upheaval of war, yet a warrior’s steadiness and adherence to duty can restore dignity; true radiance is shown through composure and resolve rather than ornament.
Sañjaya narrates that Arjuna appears without his diadem; distressed, he ties up his hair with a white cloth, and as sunlight falls on his head he shines like a mountain peak at sunrise.