Shloka 523
धृष्टद्युम्नस्य द्रोणरथारोহণं सात्यकेः प्रतिरक्षणं च | Dhrishtadyumna Boards Droṇa’s Chariot; Sātyaki’s Counter-Protection
अपश्यतो दीर्घबाहुं रक्ताक्ष॑ यन्न दीर्यते । “निश्चय ही मेरा यह हृदय अत्यन्त सुदृढ़ एवं वज़्सारका बना हुआ है, तभी तो लाल नेत्रोंवाले महाबाहु अभिमन्युको न देखनेपर भी यह फट नहीं जाता है
apaśyato dīrghabāhuṁ raktākṣaṁ yan na dīryate | niścaya hi mama yad hṛdayam atyanta-sudṛḍhaṁ vajra-sārakaṁ bhūtaṁ, yatas tato raktanetraṁ mahābāhum abhimanyum apaśyato 'pi na vidīryate ||
Sañjaya dit : «C’est assurément parce que mon cœur est devenu d’une fermeté extrême—dur comme le diamant—qu’il ne se brise pas, bien que je ne voie pas Abhimanyu, ce héros aux longs bras et aux yeux rouges de sang. Tel est le poids de ce qui s’est produit sur ce champ de bataille que sa seule absence aurait dû me réduire en miettes, et pourtant ce cœur endure.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral and emotional cost of war: even a hardened heart is tested by the loss of a righteous hero. It suggests that endurance in the face of tragedy can feel unnatural—almost like becoming 'vajra-like'—and invites reflection on how violence forces people to suppress grief.
Sañjaya, reporting the events of the Kurukṣetra war, expresses shock and restrained sorrow: despite not seeing Abhimanyu (the long-armed, red-eyed warrior), his heart has not broken, which he attributes to an unnaturally hardened resolve amid the calamity surrounding Abhimanyu’s fate.