Shloka 54

भीष्मस्य मध्याह्नयुद्धवर्णनम् / Mid-day Battle Description: Bhīṣma Engaged by the Pāñcālas

Devanagari script

नानाविधानि शस्त्राणि प्रगृह् पतिता नरा: । जीवन्त इव दृश्यन्ते गतसत्त्वा महारथा:,भाँति-भाँतिके अस्त्र-शस्त्रोंको हाथोंमें लेकर पृथ्वीपर पड़े हुए प्राणहीन महारथी सैनिक जीवित-से दिखायी देते थे

Transliteration

nānāvidhāni śastrāṇi pragṛhya patitā narāḥ | jīvanta iva dṛśyante gatasattvā mahārathāḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Men had fallen to the ground still clutching weapons of many kinds; those great chariot-warriors, though their life-breath had departed, appeared as if they were still alive. The scene underscores the grim irony of war: outward martial readiness remains, even when inner vitality is extinguished.

Word by Word

नानाvarious, of many kinds

विधानिkinds, types

शस्त्राणिweapons

प्रगृह्यhaving seized/taken up

पतिताःfallen

नराःmen, warriors

जीवन्तःliving, alive

इवas if, like

दृश्यन्तेare seen, appear

गतसत्त्वाःwhose life/breath has gone; lifeless

महारथाःgreat chariot-warriors

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

śastra (weapons)

mahāratha (great chariot-warriors)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the stark impermanence of life and the moral gravity of warfare: even the mightiest warriors, still gripping their weapons, become lifeless in an instant—showing how martial prowess cannot ultimately resist death.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the battlefield aftermath: fallen fighters lie on the earth with weapons still in hand, and though dead, they look eerily as if alive—emphasizing the intensity and devastation of the combat.