Shloka 62
भीष्मस्य मध्याह्नयुद्धवर्णनम् / Mid-day Battle Description: Bhīṣma Engaged by the Pāñcālas
कवचै: शोणितादिग्धैरविप्रकीर्णैक्ष काउ्चनै: । रराज सुभृशं भूमि: शान्तार्चिभिरिवानलै:
kavacaiḥ śoṇitādigdhair aviprakīrṇaiḥ kāñcanaiḥ | rarāja subhṛśaṃ bhūmiḥ śāntārcibhir ivānalaiḥ ||
Sañjaya dit : «Le champ de bataille brillait intensément, jonché de cuirasses d’or maculées de sang et éparses çà et là—comme des nappes de feu dont les flammes se sont éteintes, ne laissant qu’une lueur assourdie.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse offers a moral-psychological contrast: the glitter of gold on the battlefield is inseparable from bloodshed. It hints at the impermanence of martial glory and the sobering ethical residue of violence, even when war is framed as a kṣatriya duty.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the ground of the battlefield is visibly strewn with blood-smeared golden armors. The scene is compared to extinguished fires lying in spots—suggesting a battlefield quieting after intense fighting.