Shloka 13
Bhīṣma’s Fall, the Arrow-bed (śara-talpa), and the Establishment of Guard
वपूंषि च नरेन्द्राणां विगताभानि लक्षये । धार्रराष्ट्रस्य सैन्येषु न च भ्राजन्ति दंशिता:
sañjaya uvāca | vapūṁṣi ca narendrāṇāṁ vigatābhāni lakṣaye | dhārtarāṣṭrasya sainyeṣu na ca bhrājanti daṁśitāḥ |
Sañjaya dijo: «Observo que los cuerpos de los reyes han perdido su resplandor. Y entre las fuerzas de Dhṛtarāṣṭra, aun los que están de pie revestidos de armadura no brillan».
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Outer power—rank, weapons, and armor—cannot sustain true splendor when inner confidence and righteousness decline. The verse hints that moral imbalance and fear manifest as a visible loss of radiance, functioning as an omen of impending defeat.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra his observations from the battlefield: the kings on the Kaurava side appear lusterless, and even armored warriors do not look radiant. This description conveys falling morale and an inauspicious atmosphere within Duryodhana’s forces.