Shloka 16
Vāsudeva-Māhātmya: Duryodhana’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Theological Account of Keśava
विकीर्णै: कवचैश्षित्रै: शिरस्त्राणैश्न मारिष । शुशुभे तद् रणस्थानं शरदीव नभस्तलम्
sañjaya uvāca | vikīrṇaiḥ kavacaiś citraiḥ śirastrāṇaiś ca māriṣa | śuśubhe tad raṇasthānaṃ śaradīva nabhastalam ||
संजय बोले—हे माननीय! इधर-उधर बिखरे हुए विचित्र कवचों और शिरस्त्राणों से वह रणभूमि शरद्-ऋतु के तारकाभूषित आकाश की भाँति शोभायमान हो उठी।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse offers a moral contrast: war can appear outwardly magnificent, yet that beauty is built from the remnants of harm—discarded armour and helmets. It invites reflection on the cost of conflict and the impermanence of bodily protection amid fate and violence.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describes the battlefield after intense fighting. Armour and helmets lie scattered everywhere, and the field gleams in a way compared to the star-filled autumn sky.