Shloka 30

Adhyāya 74 (Book 6, Bhīṣma-parva): Bhīma–Duryodhana re-engagement and afternoon escalation

Devanagari script

आर्षभाणि विचित्राणि रुक्मजालावृतानि च । सम्पेतुर्दिक्षु सर्वासु चर्माणि भरतर्षभ,भरतभूषण! सोनेकी जालीसे ढकी और ऋषभ-चर्मकी बनी हुई विचित्र ढालें सम्पूर्ण दिशाओंमें गिर रही थीं

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

ārṣabhāṇi vicitrāṇi rukmajālāvṛtāni ca |

sampetur dikṣu sarvāsu carmāṇi bharatarṣabha ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O bull among the Bharatas, wondrous shields made of bull-hide, covered with nets of gold, were falling and scattering in every direction.”

Word by Word

• आर्षभाणि: made of bull-hide / r̥ṣabha-hide
• आर्षभाणि: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आर्षभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• विचित्राणि: variegated, wonderful
• विचित्राणि: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विचित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• रुक्मजालावृतानि: covered with a net of gold
• रुक्मजालावृतानि: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रुक्मजाल-आवृत (प्रातिपदिक; कृदन्त)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)

• सम्पेतुः: fell down, descended
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + पत् (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Plural

• दिक्षु: in the directions
• दिक्षु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिश् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Plural

• सर्वासु: in all
• सर्वासु: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Plural

• चर्माणि: shields (lit. hides/leathers)
• चर्माणि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• भरतर्षभ: O bull among the Bharatas
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरत-ऋषभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by address “bharatarṣabha”)
• shields (carmāṇi)
• golden mesh/netting (rukmajāla)
• directions (dik)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse offers no direct moral injunction; its ethical force is indirect—by vividly showing costly, ornate war-gear falling uselessly, it underscores the fragility of worldly splendor amid battle and the grave cost inherent in kṣatriya warfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Sañjaya’s battlefield report, richly decorated shields—bull-hide covered with golden mesh—are being struck down and are falling in all directions, indicating intense fighting and the disarray of combat.