Shloka 23

Devanagari script

कवचानां प्रभास्तत्र सूर्यरश्मिविराजिता:

Transliteration

kavacānāṁ prabhās tatra sūryaraśmivirājitāḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: There, the gleam of the warriors’ armor shone brilliantly, made radiant by the sun’s rays—an outward splendor that heightens the scene’s martial intensity even as it foreshadows the peril and impermanence of worldly glory on the battlefield.

Word by Word

• कवचानाम्: of armours
• कवचानाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: कवच
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• प्रभाः: splendours, radiances
• प्रभाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभा
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र

• सूर्य-रश्मि-विराजिताः: made resplendent by the sun’s rays
• सूर्य-रश्मि-विराजिताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विराजित (वि + राज्)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• armor (kavaca)
• sun (sūrya)
• sunrays (sūryaraśmi)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the contrast between external brilliance (shining armor) and the harsh reality of war, suggesting that worldly radiance and martial glory are fleeting and dependent on conditions—here, merely the sun’s light—while the deeper moral weight of the conflict remains.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing the battlefield scene: the warriors’ armors are visibly glittering as sunlight falls upon them, intensifying the vividness of the combat setting in Drona Parva.